Four major problems have dominated recent discussions of U.S. economic growth: the productivity slowdown that began in 1973, the dramatic differences in growth across regions throughout the postwar era, the relationship between productivity and U.S. international competitiveness, and the impact of the deterioration of the public infrastructure on the nation's economic performance. The analysis of regional productivity growth from this project could potentially offer important insights into all of these issues. In this project, the growth rate and level of productivity in twenty one industries for each of nine regions over the 1951-1986 period will be estimated. This approach parallels the trend in national productivity research toward disaggregation. Although this disaggregation has focused on narrower industry detail, it is likely that focusing on regional growth will lead to further gains. The results of the project will allow several important questions to be answered: (1) Has productivity grown more rapidly in some regions than others? (2) Was the productivity slowdown limited to a small number of regions, or was it more pervasive? (3) Is there any evidence that regional productivity levels are converging? (4) Are regional differences in productivity correlated with industrial characteristics, the degree of urbanization, education expenditures, regional investment in public infrastructure capital, and other public policies?
