Location, location, location

How important is access to markets as a driver of economic prosperity? In new research, Stephen Redding and Daniel Sturm address this question by analysing the post-war division of Germany and its impact on the border cities in the West suddenly cut off from their nearby trading partners

Location, location, location.

How important is access to markets as a driver of economic prosperity? In new research, Stephen Redding and Daniel Sturm address this question by analysing the post-war division of Germany and its impact on the border cities in the West suddenly cut off from their nearby trading partners.

Political competition and economic performance: theory and evidence from the United States

One of the most cherished propositions in economics is that market competition by and large raises consumer welfare. But whether political competition has similarly virtuous consequences is far less discussed. This paper formulates a model to explain why political competition may enhance economic performance and uses the United States as a testing ground for the model’s implications. It finds statistically robust evidence that political competition has quantitatively important effects on state income growth, state policies, and the quality of Governors