Book Description

The American infrastructure is growing increasingly old and obsolete, putting Americans at a disadvantage in the ever more competitive global economy. This study analyzed regional economic development in the state of Texas over the most recent sixteen-year period, 1990 to 2006. Often times, regional industry growth simply mirrors national trends but, at other times, regional growth is affected by local and industry factors that may overwhelm national trends. This study determined that there is a significant linear relationship between the dependent variable, local to national growth share, and the chosen set of explanatory variables which were: the percent of the population with a bachelor's degree, general expenditure per capita, education expenditure per capita, and general revenue per capita. The findings of this study indicated that certain kinds of public expenditures can have a positive impact on local economic development. However, the results need to be generalized beyond Texas. Much more work needs to be done to find more effective measures for the sources of comparative advantage that certain regions enjoy. This study supports, if only indirectly, that infrastructure spending is an important aspect of regional economic development. While the statistical results pertain to local areas in Texas only, the inferences drawn from this study are likely to apply to the nation as a whole.