IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/16968.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

What Do Business Climate Indexes Teach Us About State Policy and Economic Growth?

Author

Listed:
  • Jed Kolko
  • David Neumark
  • Marisol Cuellar Mejia

Abstract

State business climate indexes capture state policies that might affect economic growth. State rankings in these indexes vary wildly, raising questions about what the indexes measure and which policies are important for growth. Indexes focused on productivity do not predict economic growth, while indexes emphasizing taxes and costs predict growth of employment, wages, and output. Analysis of sub-indexes of the tax-and-cost-related indexes point to two policy factors associated with faster growth: less spending on welfare and transfer payments; and more uniform and simpler corporate tax structures. But factors beyond the control of policy have a stronger relationship with economic growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Jed Kolko & David Neumark & Marisol Cuellar Mejia, 2011. "What Do Business Climate Indexes Teach Us About State Policy and Economic Growth?," NBER Working Papers 16968, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:16968
    Note: EFG LS PE
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w16968.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bartik, Timothy J, 1985. "Business Location Decisions in the United States: Estimates of the Effects of Unionization, Taxes, and Other Characteristics of States," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 3(1), pages 14-22, January.
    2. Edward L. Glaeser, Jed Kolko, and Albert Saiz, 2001. "Consumer city," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 27-50, January.
    3. Terry F. Buss, 2001. "The Effect of State Tax Incentives on Economic Growth and Firm Location Decisions: An Overview of the Literature," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 15(1), pages 90-105, February.
    4. Levine, Ross & Zervos, Sara J, 1993. "What We Have Learned about Policy and Growth from Cross-Country Regressions?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(2), pages 426-430, May.
    5. Timothy J. Bartik, 1991. "Who Benefits from State and Local Economic Development Policies?," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number wbsle, August.
    6. Mendelsohn, Robert & Nordhaus, William D & Shaw, Daigee, 1994. "The Impact of Global Warming on Agriculture: A Ricardian Analysis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 753-771, September.
    7. Glaeser, Edward L & Hedi D. Kallal & Jose A. Scheinkman & Andrei Shleifer, 1992. "Growth in Cities," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(6), pages 1126-1152, December.
      • Edward L. Glaeser & Hedi D. Kallal & Jose A. Scheinkman & Andrei Shleifer, 1991. "Growth in Cities," NBER Working Papers 3787, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
      • Glaeser, Edward Ludwig & Kallal, Hedi D. & Scheinkman, Jose A. & Shleifer, Andrei, 1992. "Growth in Cities," Scholarly Articles 3451309, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    8. Glaeser, Edward L. & Kahn, Matthew E., 2004. "Sprawl and urban growth," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 56, pages 2481-2527, Elsevier.
    9. David Neumark & Junfu Zhang & Brandon Wall, 2007. "Employment Dynamics and Business Relocation: New Evidence from the National Establishment Time Series," Research in Labor Economics, in: Aspects of Worker Well-Being, pages 39-83, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    10. Stuart A. Gabriel & Stuart S. Rosenthal, 2004. "Quality of the Business Environment Versus Quality of Life: Do Firms and Households Like the Same Cities?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(1), pages 438-444, February.
    11. John Haltiwanger & Ron S. Jarmin & Javier Miranda, 2010. "Who Creates Jobs? Small vs. Large vs. Young," Working Papers 10-17, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    12. David Albouy, 2009. "What Are Cities Worth? Land Rents, Local Productivity, and the Capitalization of Amenity Values," NBER Working Papers 14981, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Thomas A. Garrett & Russell M. Rhine, 2011. "Economic freedom and employment growth in U.S. states," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 93(Jan), pages 1-18.
    14. David Neumark & Brandon Wall & Junfu Zhang, 2011. "Do Small Businesses Create More Jobs? New Evidence for the United States from the National Establishment Time Series," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(1), pages 16-29, August.
    15. Jan K. Brueckner, 2003. "Strategic Interaction Among Governments: An Overview of Empirical Studies," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 26(2), pages 175-188, April.
    16. Rappaport, Jordan & Sachs, Jeffrey D, 2003. "The United States as a Coastal Nation," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 5-46, March.
    17. Roback, Jennifer, 1982. "Wages, Rents, and the Quality of Life," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 90(6), pages 1257-1278, December.
    18. Timothy Besley & Anne Case, 1995. "Does Electoral Accountability Affect Economic Policy Choices? Evidence from Gubernatorial Term Limits," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(3), pages 769-798.
    19. Carlton, Dennis W, 1983. "The Location and Employment Choices of New Firms: An Econometric Model with Discrete and Continuous Endogenous Variables," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 65(3), pages 440-449, August.
    20. Thomas J. Holmes, 1998. "The Effect of State Policies on the Location of Manufacturing: Evidence from State Borders," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(4), pages 667-705, August.
    21. Duncan Black & Vernon Henderson, 1997. "Urban Growth," NBER Working Papers 6008, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Rodney A. Erickson, 1987. "Business Climate Studies: A Critical Evaluation," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 1(1), pages 62-71, February.
    23. Michael Wasylenko, 1997. "Taxation and economic development: the state of the economic literature," New England Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, issue Mar, pages 37-52.
    24. Rebecca M. Blank, 2002. "Evaluating Welfare Reform in the United States," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(4), pages 1105-1166, December.
    25. Robert Tannenwald, 1997. "State regulatory policy and economic development," New England Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, issue Mar, pages 83-108.
    26. J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), 2004. "Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 4, number 4.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Economically Free States see 30 Percent Faster Job Growth
      by Matt Mitchell in Neighborhood Effects on 2011-05-12 23:26:11
    2. In Praise of David Neumark
      by Adam Ozimek in Modeled Behavior on 2015-07-30 05:07:00

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Neumark, David & Simpson, Helen, 2015. "Place-Based Policies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 1197-1287, Elsevier.
    2. Anderson, John E., 2012. "State Tax Rankings: What Do They and Don’t They Tell Us?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 65(4), pages 985-1010, December.
    3. Cameron A. Shelton & Nathan Falk, 2016. "Policy Uncertainty and Manufacturing Investment: Evidence from U.S. State Elections," CESifo Working Paper Series 5846, CESifo.
    4. Lopez, Rigoberto A. & Plesha, Nataliya & Campbell, Benjamin, 2014. "Economic Impacts of Agriculture in Eight Northeastern States," Research Reports 290064, University of Connecticut, Charles J. Zwick Center for Food and Resource Policy.
    5. Anita Yadavalli, 2017. "The Effect of Enterprise Zone-Related Tax Savings on Economic Development: A Generalized Propensity Score Approach," Review of Economics & Finance, Better Advances Press, Canada, vol. 10, pages 83-96, November.
    6. Georgeanne M. Artz & Kevin D. Duncan & Arthur P. Hall & Peter F. Orazem, 2016. "Do State Business Climate Indicators Explain Relative Economic Growth At State Borders?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(3), pages 395-419, June.
    7. Susan Feng Lu & Lauren Xiaoyuan Lu, 2017. "Do Mandatory Overtime Laws Improve Quality? Staffing Decisions and Operational Flexibility of Nursing Homes," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(11), pages 3566-3585, November.
    8. Marcus Hagedorn & Fatih Karahan & Iourii Manovskii & Kurt Mitman, 2013. "Unemployment Benefits and Unemployment in the Great Recession: The Role of Macro Effects," NBER Working Papers 19499, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Florencia Garcia-Vicente & Daniel Garcia-Swartz & Martin Campbell-Kelly, 2017. "Information technology clusters and regional growth in America, 1970–1980," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 1021-1046, April.
    10. G. Jason Jolley & Mandee Foushee Lancaster & Jiang Gao, 2015. "Tax Incentives and Business Climate," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 29(2), pages 180-186, May.
    11. devin michelle bunten & Stephan Weiler & Eric Thompson & Sammy Zahran, 2015. "Entrepreneurship, Information, And Growth," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), pages 560-584, September.
    12. Jacob Bundrick & Weici Yuan, 2019. "Do Targeted Business Subsidies Improve Income and Reduce Poverty? A Synthetic Control Approach," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 33(4), pages 351-375, November.
    13. Stefan Fölster & Li Jansson & Anton Nyrenström Gidehag, 2016. "The effect of local business climate on employment," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(1), pages 2-24, April.
    14. Samantha Marie Schenck, 2021. "Assessing the Employment Effects of California’s Paid Family Leave Program," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 47(3), pages 406-429, June.
    15. Marcus Hagedorn & Fatih Karahan & Iourii Manovskii & Kurt Mitman, 2013. "Unemployment Benefits and Unemployment in the Great Recession: The Role of Equilibrium Effects," Staff Reports 646, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    16. David Neumark & Jennifer Muz, 2016. "The “Business Climate” and Economic Inequality," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62(1), pages 161-180, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Duranton, Gilles & Puga, Diego, 2014. "The Growth of Cities," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 5, pages 781-853, Elsevier.
    2. Juan Carlos Suárez Serrato & Owen Zidar, 2016. "Who Benefits from State Corporate Tax Cuts? A Local Labor Markets Approach with Heterogeneous Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(9), pages 2582-2624, September.
    3. Kahn, Matthew E. & Walsh, Randall, 2015. "Cities and the Environment," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 405-465, Elsevier.
    4. Edward L. Glaeser & Joshua D. Gottlieb, 2008. "The Economics of Place-Making Policies," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 39(1 (Spring), pages 155-253.
    5. David Neumark & Jennifer Muz, 2016. "The “Business Climate” and Economic Inequality," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62(1), pages 161-180, March.
    6. Tessa Conroy & Steven Deller & Alexandra Tsvetkova, 2017. "Interstate Relocation Of Manufacturers And Business Climate," Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 18-45, March.
    7. Jerome Segura III, 2017. "The effect of state and local taxes on economic growth: A spatial dynamic panel approach," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96(3), pages 627-645, August.
    8. Jordan Rappaport, 2006. "Consumption amenities and city crowdedness," Research Working Paper RWP 06-10, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
    9. Jed Kolko & David Neumark, 2008. "Changes In The Location Of Employment And Ownership: Evidence From California," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(4), pages 717-744, October.
    10. Jan K. Brueckner & David Neumark, 2014. "Beaches, Sunshine, and Public Sector Pay: Theory and Evidence on Amenities and Rent Extraction by Government Workers," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 6(2), pages 198-230, May.
    11. Jan K. Brueckner & David Neumark, 2014. "Beaches, Sunshine, and Public Sector Pay: Theory and Evidence on Amenities and Rent Extraction by Government Workers," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 6(2), pages 198-230, May.
    12. Rappaport, Jordan, 2008. "Consumption amenities and city population density," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 533-552, November.
    13. Carlianne Patrick, 2014. "Does Increasing Available Non-Tax Economic Development Incentives Result in More Jobs?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 67(2), pages 351-386, June.
    14. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Gobillon, Laurent, 2015. "The Empirics of Agglomeration Economies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 247-348, Elsevier.
    15. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/1kv8mtgl748r0ahh12air9erdc is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Michael J. Hicks, 2006. "Transportation and infrastructure, retail clustering, and local public finance: evidence from Wal-Mart's expansion," Regional Economic Development, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Oct, pages 100-114.
    17. Shihe Fu & Stephen L. Ross, 2013. "Wage Premia in Employment Clusters: How Important Is Worker Heterogeneity?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(2), pages 271-304.
    18. Klaus Desmet & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2013. "Urban Accounting and Welfare," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2296-2327, October.
    19. Rohlin, Shawn & Rosenthal, Stuart S. & Ross, Amanda, 2014. "Tax avoidance and business location in a state border model," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 34-49.
    20. Carl Gaigné & Jacques‐François Thisse, 2009. "Aging Nations And The Future Of Cities," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(4), pages 663-688, October.
    21. Hongbo Wang, 2016. "The Texas economic model, miracle or mirage? A spatial hedonic analysis," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 56(2), pages 393-417, March.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H5 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:16968. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.