  A two-site cluster generalization of the Hubbard model in large dimensions is
examined in order to study the role of short-range spin correlations near the
metal-insulator transition (MIT). The model is mapped to a two-impurity
Kondo-Anderson model in a self-consistently determined bath, making it possible
to directly address the competition between the Kondo effect and RKKY
interactions in a lattice context. Our results indicate that the RKKY
interactions lead to qualitative modifications of the MIT scenario even in the
absence of long range antiferromagnetic ordering.
