TY  - JOUR
AU  - Mitchener,Kris James
AU  - McLean,Ian W.
TI  - The Productivity of U.S. States Since 1880
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 9445
PY  - 2003
Y2  - January 2003
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9445
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9445.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Kris James Mitchener
Department of Economics
Leavey School of Business
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA 95053
Tel: 408/554-4340
Fax: 408/554-2331
E-Mail: kmitchener@scu.edu
AB  - This study uses state-level variation in labor productivity levels at twenty-year intervals between 1880 and 1980 to examine the relative importance of institutional and geographical influences in explaining observed and persistent differences in standards of living over time and across regions. Focusing on fundamental rather than proximate influences, we find that both institutional characteristics and some physical geography characteristics account for a high proportion of the differences in state productivity levels: states with navigable waterways, a large minerals endowment, and no slaves in 1860, on average, had higher labor productivity levels throughout the sample period. However, we find little support for two other influences that have previously received attention    climate and latitude.
ER  -