An Analysis of Poverty in the American South: How Are Metropolitan Areas Different from Nonmetropolitan Areas?

This article examines the causes of poverty in the American South and identifies differences in the causes that exist between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties. Using a multiple linear regression model, a county's poverty rate is regressed on a vector of variables related to characteristics of its population, educational attainment, and economy. This study finds that most of these characteristics affect a county's poverty rate, but it also finds that several of the characteristics have a significantly different effect on the poverty rate of metropolitan counties than on the poverty rate of nonmetropolitan counties. These differences suggests that policy makers involved in fighting poverty in metropolitan counties may need to focus their efforts on changing different characteristics of the county than those engaged in fighting poverty in nonmetropolitan counties. (JEL "I30", "R10") Copyright 2003 Western Economic Association International.