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New Area- and Population-based Geographic Crosswalks for U.S. Counties and Congressional Districts, 1790–2020

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  • Andreas Ferrara
  • Patrick A. Testa
  • Liyang Zhou

Abstract

In applied historical research, geographic units often differ in level of aggregation across datasets. One solution is to use crosswalks that associate factors located within one geographic unit to another, based on their relative areas. We develop an alternative approach based on relative populations, which accounts for heterogeneities in urbanization within counties. We construct population-based crosswalks for 1790 through 2020, which map county-level data across U.S. censuses, as well as from counties to congressional districts. Using official census data for congressional districts, we show that population-based weights outperform area-based ones in terms of similarity to official data.

Suggested Citation

  • Andreas Ferrara & Patrick A. Testa & Liyang Zhou, 2024. "New Area- and Population-based Geographic Crosswalks for U.S. Counties and Congressional Districts, 1790–2020," NBER Working Papers 32206, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32206
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    1. Richard Hornbeck, 2010. "Barbed Wire: Property Rights and Agricultural Development," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(2), pages 767-810.
    2. David S. Lee & Enrico Moretti & Matthew J. Butler, 2004. "Do Voters Affect or Elect Policies? Evidence from the U. S. House," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(3), pages 807-859.
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    Cited by:

    1. Eric C. Edwards & Walter N. Thurman, 2022. "The Economics of Climatic Adaptation: Agricultural Drainage in the United States," NBER Chapters, in: American Agriculture, Water Resources, and Climate Change, pages 29-51, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N01 - Economic History - - General - - - Development of the Discipline: Historiographical; Sources and Methods
    • N9 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)

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