The economic health of Missouri is tightly bound to the fortunes of Saint Louis and Kansas City, as these two metropolitan areas account for over half of the state’s output. Unfortunately, the performance of both cities has been dismal in the 21st century, and the predictable result is that growth statewide has been poor as well. This essay examines growth not only in Saint Louis and Kansas City, but also in the state’s smaller metropolitan areas and rural areas, comparing them to counterparts nationwide. Although there have been pockets of economic vitality throughout the state, the two major metro areas have generated a drag on state ouput that has left Missouri as one of the slowest growing states in the nation. Click on the link below to read the entire essay.
About the Author
Michael Podgursky
Michael Podgursky is Chancellor's Professor of economics at the University of Missouri Columbia, where he served as department chair from 1995 to 2005, and research fellow and former director at the Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research at St. Louis University. He is a former fellow of the George W. Bush Institute at Southern Methodist University. He has published numerous articles and reports on education policy and teacher quality. He serves on advisory boards for various education organizations and on editorial boards of several policy research journals. From 1980 to 1995, he was on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He earned his bachelors degree in economics from the University of Missouri Columbia and a PhD in economics from the University of Wisconsin Madison.
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