On growth and states

This thesis consists of five Chapters on the general topic of Economic Growth. Chapter one is a survey of the literature, Chapter two calibrates the convergence implications of the Neoclassical model and shows that this prediction is not borne out in the cross country data.; Chapter three shows that there is strong evidence that the States of the United States tend to converge over time. This convergence is much slower than the one predicted by the old Neoclassical model under the strict interpretation of the word capital. If we interpret capital broadly, my estimates suggest that the capital share in the aggregate production function is larger than.8.; In Chapter four I show some empirical correlations between Federal Government and State Growth and State Business Fluctuations as well as correlations between State and Local Government expenditures and State Economic Growth.; In Chapter 5 I present an endogenous growth model of labor mobility and show that it predicts convergence only if low human capital workers move more. I also show that migration leaves a great deal of convergence unexplained.