In this study, we examine the effect of public spending for the arts on state economic growth among U.S. states. While there is a large literature on the effects of many elements of public spending on economic growth, this literature has ignored spending for the arts. We extend this literature...

This piece examines the local tourism-related expenditures made by attendees at large, outdoor popular music concerts held from 2010 to 2012 in Bangor, Maine. A regression analysis of the relationship between monthly taxable retail sales—e.g., restaurant and lodging sales—and the number of...

We analyze the impact of economic development policies and highway infrastructure improvements on growth of per capita income and jobs in Michigan counties. The policies considered for analysis have significant impact on growth outcomes. However, this effect is non-linear. Significant...

This study uses modeled Small Area Estimates data to analyze the labor market influences on child poverty rates in local areas. These data support analysis of small geographic areas as well as at different points of the business cycle. Statistical tests appropriate for data with geographic and...

Using U.S. county data from 1990 and 2000, a family of spatial models examining growth in population and employment are reported. Special attention is paid to the role of microenterprises--firms with less than five employees--in predicting economic growth. Results suggest that microenterprises...

Urban sprawl has been criticized for its disproportionate impact on the environment. Yet urban areas are in fact less land-intensive than recent rural development patterns. Residential first-movers into such virgin areas may spark waves of ensuing development without incorporating the true...

This article illustrates the commonly overlooked sample selection problem inherent in using rural classification methods that change over time due to population changes. Since fast-growing rural areas grow out of their rural status, using recent rural definitions excludes the most successful...

The concept of regional competitiveness is increasingly popular among academics and policymakers as indicated by reports that rank or grade regional economies. Competitiveness in these studies generally is measured by growth rates in population, employment, and per capita income. This paper...

Although the traditional economic base model remains a useful tool for regional analysis, in a multi-region context it fails to account for feedback effects. In addition, since the model is typically applied to individual regions, formal assessment of variation in the magnitude of regional...

We examine the empirical relationship between public investment and per capita income growth in the Spanish regions over 1965-1997. Using a neoclassical growth model with public and human capital, a convergence equation is derived and estimated using panel data techniques. Besides providing...