A Comparative Analysis of Literacy Rate in Contributing to Social Exclusion Insights

Our contribution aims to analyze the relationship between the phenomena of social exclusion and literacy levels, and to consider the significant implication of this relationship on economic growth. The goal, which is reached by analyzing cross-country data, is firstly to describe the situation of social exclusion with the use of specific socio-economic variables, and secondly to compare the levels of education and training for each considered country. These two phenomena are mutually influenced, as a low level of literacy in affecting the employment status precludes the possibility to enter and operate freely in society, while poverty and persistent social exclusion of a person or family make difficult to address appropriate educational and training paths. Therefore, our study has rejoined two issues which influence almost all decisions adopted by policy makers, especially in the Western world. The opening issue is the level of education, which should constitute the human capital of a country, through appropriate investment, and the second one is the relational condition of social dynamics, which highlight the so-called social capital. Together these two types of intangible capitals constitute a strong support for the long-term development of a country. Our quantitative analysis is also addressed to detect differences and peculiarities among the different national realities, with the ultimate purpose to recognize which socio-economic variables affect more directly the processes of education.