Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

6431

Date

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Sociology

Committee Chair

Joeph Lariscy

Committee Member

Sunah Laybourn

Committee Member

Wesley James

Abstract

This study addresses how resource allocation of mobility-promoting organizations vary by characteristics of Tennessee counties. More specifically, I examine the variation of resources provided across urban and rural counties. Building on previous studies of mobility-promoting organizations, this study moves away from neighborhood analysis and updates to larger spatial units to a county level analysis. Including county-level data provides an opportunity to explore potential explanations for the observed regional variation in rates of poverty. Furthermore, this study analyzes aspects of disadvantage and organizational density. I utilize the Social Vulnerability Index and the Relative Rurality Index in combination with U.S. Census and U.S. Business Patterns data to describe Tennessee county deprivation characteristics. I categorize organizations into three service types: hardship, employment, and education; all of which are related to an individual’s well-being and prospects for mobility. My analyses use Poisson regression models to examine the association between counties’ characteristics and the number of mobility-promoting organizations, accounting for counties’ population sizes. Results: More urban counties tend to have a higher density of hardship and employment organizations, but not educational organizations, after controlling for social vulnerability.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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