The Talent Dividend in Urban and Rural Areas

“If there is one single factor that influences the social stability, economic success, and overall well-being of places, it is educational attainment. Places with more highly educated people have lower rates of crimes, lower rates of obesity and smoking, better overall health and well-being, and higher incomes and levels of economic development. For those very reasons, education level is a key factor in our economic, political, and cultural divides. It was a central axis of the 2016 election, with places home to more highly-educated people voting overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton, and those with less-educated residents in favor of Donald Trump. We measure educational attainment using the conventional metric of the share of the adult population (25 years and older) who hold at least a bachelor’s degree.”