Spatial and space-time correlations in the U.S. human capital accumulation processes

AbstractOur study examines the specific relationship between poverty and educational attainment as a measure to access to knowledge in a particular and well-defined socio-economic context as the multifaceted United States. We use data about advanced levels of education over the last decade, considering all the American States, which play a key role in both past and recent choices in the field of education and training, both for welfare and distribution of income and wealth. U.S. is a complex country system which has paid particular attention to national human capital accumulation, with heavy investments in time, opening the door to the one of the most advanced economy in the world, nowadays almost certainly the most advanced. However, this is also a nation full of contrasts, between ethnic groups, religious minorities and different social classes. Spatial and temporal character of our empirical analysis allows to observe the different situations which emerge in the various States in order to represent an outline of the national context and to examine specifically these unique and interesting areas