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Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to reformulate the problem of
unemployment and its relation to education; i.e., to suggest a new
conceptual perspective on this relationship. The major hypothesis
is that the people of a low-income region with limited opportunities
for educated persons interpret their local economic environment and
its job opportunities as indicating the actual benefits of
education, and hence undervalue it. This hypothesis is not tested
in this paper, but examined as an indication of a direction for
further research. An illustrative example which is representative
of many other economically lagging regions is a 19-county area of
South Central Kentucky, which has received much state and U. S.
development assistance. This region is of special interest because
demand for labor has rapidly increased and education is available,
but unemployment remains stubbornly high and the level of education
low. Therefore, it appears that a strategy of merely providing
educational and employment opportunities and transportation
infrastructure will not lift a lagging region out of poverty.
Further research is needed, beginning with a re-examination and
reformulation of the problem to include the impact of the social and
economic environment created by the predominance of unskilled and
non-technical jobs in the area. An alternative strategy which is
re1evant to an open economy is suggested if the hypothesis proves
to be valid.