SRDC Series #215

Human Capital Endowments and Labor Force Experiences of Southerners:
A Ten-Year Perspective-Abstract
May 2000

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The importance and necessity of securing a college education in order to effectively compete in the labor market continues to be an issue of intense interest in this country. In some circles, researchers and policy analysts argue that our country woefully lacks the capacity to supply workers having the skills needed to effectively compete in today's global economy (Johnston and Packer 1987; Sidor 1992). In other circles, they assert that no significant enrichment in the job skill requirements is taking place in the labor market and, as a consequence, no appreciable deficiency in the human capital resources of our country's labor force exists (Mishel and Teixeira 1991). Those from a third perspective opine that moderate shifts in skills and education requirements are taking place, but these changes are being largely confined to economies situated in the urban areas of the U.S. (McGranahan and Ghelfi 1991). In essence, rural areas are not full partners in the acceleration in the demand for well-educated workers (Killian and Parker 1991; Swaim and Teixeira 1991).