The Missouri economy has been growing more slowly than the national economy for more than a decade. The United States Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has data on the value of goods and services produced within each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia for the period 1997 through 2013. During that period, the United States’ real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at a 2.23 percent annual average rate while Missouri’s GDP increased at a 1.08 percent average annual rate. Only Michigan recorded an average annual growth rate lower than Missouri over the same period. Thus, we can summarily reject the notion that the Missouri economy grows at about the same rate as the national economy. Rather, the evidence indicates that Missouri has become a laggard relative to other states in the union.
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