Rural-Urban Differences in Poverty: An Analysis of Pennsylvania Counties

Angel Alcantara, Stephanie Brewer and James Jozefowicz
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Angel Alcantara: Department of Finance and Economics, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Pennsylvania 15705,

International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 2023, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-9

Abstract: This study examines the determinants of poverty in rural and urban Pennsylvania counties. Economic and demographic characteristics are evaluated in their relation to the poverty rate using panel data from 2000 to 2019 for the 67 Pennsylvania counties. A two-way fixed effects model is estimated to account for unobserved county-specific and time-specific heterogeneity. The results indicate that there are rural-urban differences in the impacts of explanatory variables. In rural Pennsylvania counties, economic factors have significant effects on the poverty rate. The percentage of employment in manufacturing and construction are negatively related to the poverty rate, while the percentage of renters and employment in agriculture are positively related. In contrast, only the percentage of female-headed households has a positive, statistically significant impact in urban counties. Oaxaca (1973) decomposition indicates that structural characteristics in rural counties help mitigate their poverty rates. The results suggest that different policies must be implemented in urban and rural counties to alleviate poverty.

Keywords: Poverty; Demographics; Pennsylvania; Oaxaca Decomposition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C33 I32 J10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eco:journ1:2023-05-1

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