The South has seen a remarkable economic rise during the past three decades. Was this growth a result of automatic forces or was it fueled by state and local tax policies? Traditional economic theory suggests that forces of convergence, not tax policies, have moved the southern states toward...

This article develops a framework for simulating the effects of state business taxes on state investment and output. Our simulations provide the predicted increase in investment—both in equipment and structures (E&S) and in research and development (R&D)—and the predicted increase in output...