"State per capita incomes became more disperse during the contraction phase of the Great Depression, and less disperse during the recovery phase. We investigate the effects of geography, industry structure, bank failures and fiscal policies on state income growth during each phase. We find that...

Perfect integration eludes the real world, so we suggest a realistic benchmark standard for judging the extent of market integration in various economies. We estimate the degree of integration in the US product market, widely acknowledged to be the most integrated among geographically large...