We use US county level data (3,058 observations) from 1970 to 1998 to explore the relationship between economic growth and the extent of government employment at three levels: federal, state and local. We find that increases in federal, state and local government employments are all negatively...

This paper explores the factors that contribute to long-run economic growth in U.S. metropolitan areas, with particular attention given to government finance variables. Unlike previous work that examines only a sub-sample of the largest areas, this paper uses a new comprehensive data set for all...

In what sense are institutions a deep determinant of growth? In this paper, we address this question by examining the relationship between city growth and institutional reform in 19th century Germany, when some cities experienced deep institutional reform as a result of French rule. Employing an...