ABSTRACT
This chapter describes an outgrowth of a larger study in which the Program of Development Studies at Rice University has been analyzing the impact of Third World government programs upon income and wealth differentials among communal groups. Spatial distortion can also be identified between modern and traditional sections of a country. Spatial access is the ability to obtain equal education based upon the location of the student and/or his family, that is, maldistribution of quality and quantity of education across geographic areas or administrative units. The chapter argues that spatial distortion can also account for variations in educational opportunities among communal groups and can thus impact upon income differentials. Spatial distortion has obviously disadvantaged some communal elements, particularly those in isolated regions. There are also indigenous communal groups residing in and about urban areas or centered in regions of European commercial activities and who have heavy access to superior education.
