CENTER FOR BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH / THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
& ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Volume 68, Number 11
November 1999
Public Education: A Crisis in Confidence?
I
n 1970, Alabama per capita
income was $2,964 compared to $4,077 for the United
States. Per capita income in
Alabama was 73 percent of the
national average. By 1998, this gap
had shrunk—Alabama income was
81 percent of the national average.
Alabama 1998 per capita income
was estimated to be $21,442 compared to $26,412 for the United
States.
While the income gap between
Alabama and the national average
has narrowed over the past 30 years,
why Alabama persistently lags
behind our sister states demands
understanding. Why does the
average Alabamian earn less than
the average American? There are
two primary reasons. First, many
rural Alabama counties have little or
no industry. These counties have
high unemployment and significant
poverty. Tables 1 and 2 give data
for all 67 counties and profile
Alabama's 10 poorest and 10
wealthiest counties.
The second reason for the income
gap is in the nature of the industries
that dominate Alabama's rural
industrial base. The common thread
among rural Alabama employers is
their minimal labor force requirements. Rural Alabama employment
is dominated by low skill, low wage
industries—characteristic of a poorly
educated workforce.
Alabama is a state blessed with
natural resources. It is located in
one of the fastest growing regions
of the country, and it connects to
superb domestic and international
markets by air, rail, interstate, and
sea. Why then does the state continue to under-perform the nation as
a whole?
As in all matters of the human
condition, there are many forces at
work. Alabama lives with a legacy
that extends to the Civil War and
before. While the land and climate
are well suited to an agrarian
economy, an agrarian economy is
not the wealth producer in the 20th
century that it was in the 18th. Rural
Alabama is struggling to find its
place in an increasingly information
and technology driven economy—a
21st century economy that demands
a well-educated workforce.
In 1970, 25.9 percent of the Alabama
population had at least a high school
education compared to 31.1 percent
for the United States. Educational
attainment in the state has risen in the
past 30 years, but has not caught up
to the national average. Herein lies a
clue to Alabama's income disparity.
In 1998, 78.8 percent of adult
Alabamians had at least a high
school education compared to 82.8
percent for the United States. State
wide numbers don't tell the whole
story. The average educational
attainment of the adults in the urban
counties is significantly higher than
that of the adults in the rural counties.
Our urban centers, home of the
state's good public schools and most
of the colleges and universities, are
also home of Alabama's 21st century
employment opportunities.
church, and then a school. Young
families and grandparents alike knew
the value of education. They built the
school with their own hands and hired
the teacher. They understood the
value of an education and they
invested their time and personal
wealth in the future of the children of
the community. They saw these
expenditures as an investment. They
knew that one day the children would
become teachers, doctors, business
leaders, architects of tomorrow—
builders of the future.
These observations are a bit like a
child's marveling at the discovery that
the sun always rises in the east. How
can one deny that the quality of life
and the future of the economy are
contingent on a well-educated
citizenry? This issue is rarely debated. So why then does Alabama
seem to ignore the quality of education in the rural counties? And why,
at times of need in urban schools, are
For Alabama to prosper, to begin to
realize its economic potential, it must
be willing to invest in all of its children.
This will only happen when every adult
once again believes in the value of
education and the ability of our
schools to teach and educate the
children of Alabama—the leaders and
workers of tomorrow.
Maybe Alabama faces crisis of confidence. Confidence in the ability of
the schools to teach and educate the
children, the confidence once born of
involvement, has been lost through
the pace and distractions of late 20th
century living.
public tax referendums frequently
defeated?
As new communities sprang up in the
westward movement across America,
settlers first built shelter, then a
Carl Ferguson
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK 2000
✔ Mark Your Calendars!
January 2000
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Alabama Business and Economic Indicators
The University of Alabama's
Center for Business and
Economic Research will hold its
2000 Economic Outlook
Conference on January 27 in
Montgomery. To receive a
conference brochure:
Call: (205) 348-6191
Email: [email protected]
Table 1. Alabama Per Capita Income, 1997
Counties
Dollars
Rank in Percent of
State
State Avg.
Percent of
Natl. Avg.
Autauga
Baldwin
Barbour
Bibb
Blount
Bullock
Butler
Calhoun
Chambers
Cherokee
Chilton
Choctaw
Clarke
Clay
Cleburne
Coffee
Colbert
Conecuh
Coosa
Covington
Crenshaw
Cullman
Dale
Dallas
De Kalb
Elmore
Escambia
Etowah
Fayette
Franklin
Geneva
Greene
Hale
Henry
Houston
Jackson
Jefferson
Lamar
Lauderdale
Lawrence
Lee
Limestone
Lowndes
Macon
Madison
Marengo
Marion
Marshall
Mobile
Monroe
Montgomery
Morgan
Perry
Pickens
Pike
Randolph
Russell
St. Clair
Shelby
Sumter
Talladega
Tallapoosa
Tuscaloosa
Walker
Washington
Wilcox
Winston
19,211
22,431
17,433
16,988
18,117
13,915
15,880
18,855
17,896
15,832
17,825
16,079
17,782
18,822
17,049
19,511
20,155
16,443
15,591
17,547
16,392
19,093
17,787
16,730
19,318
18,945
16,680
19,126
17,938
17,775
17,523
14,315
15,151
17,023
21,069
19,153
25,772
17,330
19,576
17,482
17,641
18,639
13,427
14,324
24,537
17,471
17,301
19,512
19,371
17,293
24,103
22,346
13,458
16,259
17,671
17,308
17,215
18,496
25,757
13,817
16,857
19,769
20,514
19,181
16,367
12,984
18,696
16
5
40
48
27
63
57
22
29
58
30
56
32
23
46
13
9
52
59
36
53
20
31
50
15
21
51
19
28
33
37
62
60
47
7
18
1
41
11
38
35
25
66
61
3
39
43
12
14
44
4
6
65
55
34
42
45
26
2
64
49
10
8
17
54
67
24
76%
89%
69%
67%
72%
55%
63%
75%
71%
63%
70%
64%
70%
74%
67%
77%
80%
65%
62%
69%
65%
76%
70%
66%
76%
75%
66%
76%
71%
70%
69%
57%
60%
67%
83%
76%
102%
69%
77%
69%
70%
74%
53%
57%
97%
69%
68%
77%
77%
68%
95%
88%
53%
64%
70%
68%
68%
73%
102%
55%
67%
78%
81%
76%
65%
51%
74%
93%
109%
84%
82%
88%
67%
77%
91%
87%
77%
86%
78%
86%
91%
82%
94%
97%
80%
75%
85%
79%
92%
86%
81%
93%
92%
81%
93%
87%
86%
85%
69%
73%
82%
102%
93%
125%
84%
95%
85%
85%
90%
65%
69%
119%
85%
84%
94%
94%
84%
117%
108%
65%
79%
85%
84%
83%
89%
125%
67%
82%
96%
99%
93%
79%
63%
90%
Metropolitan Areas
Dollars
Percent of Percent of
State Avg. Natl. Avg.
Anniston, AL (MSA)
Birmingham, AL (MSA)
Decatur, AL (MSA)
Dothan, AL (MSA)
Florence, AL (MSA)
Gadsden, AL (MSA)
Huntsville, AL (MSA)
Mobile, AL (MSA)
Montgomery, AL (MSA)
Tuscaloosa, AL (MSA)
18,855
24,898
21,202
19,869
19,800
19,126
23,459
20,119
22,498
20,514
91%
120%
103%
96%
96%
93%
113%
97%
109%
99%
75%
98%
84%
79%
78%
76%
93%
80%
89%
81%
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, May, 1999.
Table 2. Alabama Per Capita Income Ranks, 1997
Area name
Dollars
United States
Metropolitan portion
Nonmetropolitan portion
25,288
26,840
19,089
Alabama
Metropolitan portion
Nonmetropolitan portion
20,672
22,143
17,588
Rank in
State
Top Ten Counties
Jefferson
Shelby
Madison
Montgomery
Baldwin
Morgan
Houston
Tuscaloosa
Colbert
Tallapoosa
25,772
25,757
24,537
24,103
22,431
22,346
21,069
20,514
20,155
19,769
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
15,832
15,591
15,151
14,324
14,315
13,915
13,817
13,458
13,427
12,984
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
Bottom Ten Counties
Cherokee
Coosa
Hale
Macon
Greene
Bullock
Sumter
Perry
Lowndes
Wilcox
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, May, 1999.
Note: County level estimates of per capita income are not yet available for
the year 1998. The state and national averages presented here are
consistent with the county averages.
Center for Business and Economic Research
3
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