Dubnick, Melvin J., and Jerry Mitchell. “The Role of Subnational Governments in the American Economy: Why the States Are Important.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Social Science Association, San Antonio, Texas, March 19–22, 1985.
Abstract: Most observers of American public policy undervalue the role state governments play in the U.S. economy and economic policymaking. This paper reassesses that undervaluation in light of available evidence. The “undervaluation” of the state role takes a variety of forms — most obvious are analyses which completely ignore the American states and their local subdivisions in discussions of economic policy. Most important has been the tendency of economic analysts and policymakers to view the American economy and its problems in strictly macro-level and nation-level terms, resulting in a focus on aggregate data that unintentionally excludes factors defined in subnational terms and ignores state and local level participation in determining the shape and direction of the U.S. economy.