Poverty and Place across the United States: Do County Governments Matter to the Distribution of Economic Disparities?

Many researchers advocate active local government responses to poverty and other economic disparities. In doing so, they raise a generally unexplored question: can local governments themselves influence poverty net of other determinants? This study extends past research in two ways by (1) analyzing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International regional science review 2012-04, Vol.35 (2), p.158-187
Main Authors: Lobao, Linda, Jeanty, P. Wilner, Partridge, Mark, Kraybill, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Counties
County government
Determinants
Economic analysis
Economic development
Economic growth
Economic inequality
Economic policy
Economics
Households
Income
Income distribution
Income inequality
Local government
Poverty
Standard of living
Studies
U.S.A
United States
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Summary:Many researchers advocate active local government responses to poverty and other economic disparities. In doing so, they raise a generally unexplored question: can local governments themselves influence poverty net of other determinants? This study extends past research in two ways by (1) analyzing the poverty-reducing role of county governments and (2) evaluating new relationships pertaining to the comparative influence of government capacity and specific policies. The authors assess the degree to which county government capacity and economic development policies relate to disparities in job growth, individual and child poverty, and household income. The empirical analysis is based on a unique set of primary and secondary data on county governments for the post-2000 period. County government capacity as measured by county centralization and autonomy from upper-level government is related to economic growth and poverty reduction. By contrast, policy variables have little consistent association with economic disparities.
ISSN:0160-0176
1552-6925
DOI:10.1177/0160017611435356