Geography of a Recession
Posted in Economy by Steven Hayward
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Two points I wonder about:
a) Texas is not immune, although they were close to last to be affected. Since Texas is generally the country's best place for business, I'd expect this recession to be longer and deeper than "expected".
b) Why the immunity of western Kansas and Nebraska? Do corn/ethanol subsidies explain that? My personal observations from driving through those states are that farmers have stopped growing corn in great amounts and have returned to a predominantly wheat-based economy.
I suspect the "immunity" of the Great Plains has to do with commodity production. Given the global hard times, commodity prices are up. Also, the employment base of the Plains is pretty low to start with -- not much fat to cut, actually.