| Abstract: | This study analyzes the correlates of life quality differencesin 243 U.S. metropolitan areas. Using an overall index of lifequality developed by Ben-Chieh Liu, it tests the empirical utilityof three competing explanationsracial dualism, economicdevelopment, and political culture. The results show that allthree exert substantial effects on the quality of life regardlessof metropolitan size. Overall the best predictor of life qualitydifferences is the percentage of adults who have received atleast a high school education. In addition, cultural differencesexert significant effects on the quality of metropolitan lifeindependent of racial and developmental differences. These culturaleffects are interpreted within two theoretically seminal theories:Elazar's theory of political culture and Gastil's theory ofcultural regions. |
