IT Intensity Socio-Economic Immobility
Abstract
As workforce participation continues to decline in the United States, simultaneously, a steady increase in the impact of information technology (IT) intensity on economic outcomes, both regionally and nationally, occurs. This study-in-progress examines how the impact of IT intensity coupled with the lack of educational opportunities in certain geographic areas impact measures of socioeconomic immobility. As IT intensity is operationalized as a census-based measure of geographic IT, lack of educational opportunity is operationalized as advanced mathematics offerings in high schools, and socioeconomic immobility is operationalized as poverty indicators, including disability payments, Medicaid, and supplemental nutrition assistance. A model and propositions are offered here to measure these variables.