Changes in the Appalachian Wage Gap, 1970 to 2000

Since at least 1960, Appalachia has had lower wages, employment rates, and educational attainment than the rest of the country. Using a sample from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series Census project, the author identifies factors affecting the wage gap between 1970 and 2000. The author finds that increases in educational attainment in Appalachia are counterbalanced by increasing returns to observable and unobservable skill, the decline of the manufacturing industry, and rising wage dispersion, leaving the wage gap for full-time workers in 2000 at essentially the same levels as 1970. Copyright 2006 Blackwell Publishing.