A Life Course Perspective On Non-Metro Vs. Metro Poverty And Economic Attainment In The Transition To Adulthood In The United States (1980-2009)

Abstract

In the wake of the Great Recession, a great deal of attention has focused on the dearth of opportunities presently available for young adults transitioning into the workforce; however, little concrete analysis exists regarding how the prevalence of poverty among young adults has shifted within a longer historical time frame or in non-metro areas. Using PSID data, this thesis uses life tables and the Cox proportional hazard model to examine non-metro vs. metro variation in the probability of experiencing a year of poverty or economic attainment between the ages 25-30 in reference to a number of covariates. Results indicate that, while poverty is unevenly distributed across non-metro and metro areas, residence is not a significant predictor of poverty or economic attainment when historical context, family background, and individual level characteristics are taken into account. Family socio-economic status (measured as average family income from age 12-16), individual education, service-sector occupation, and race are found to be the most significant predictors of both poverty and economic attainment.