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The following article is provided by the Caesar Rodney Institute, a Delaware-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) public policy research organization.

It comes from a Policy Center Director who works to help Delawareans by providing fact-based analysis in four key areas:

education, energy and environmental policy, the economy and government spending, and health policy.

Delaware's economy and governance

Since Delaware has had 15 consecutive years of conservative governors followed by 18 years of progressive governors, it is an interesting case study. Do the differences in the governance philosophies have consequences for Delaware’s economy?

 

A simple answer to this question is to consider the differences in the major measures of economic performance for Delaware between these two time periods. While this simple approach doesn’t control for all intervening factors, both periods saw two national recessions and, according to the Tax Foundation, the state and local tax burdens were similar.

 

As shown below (CLICK HERE for chart), the Delaware economy was far more robust during the conservative years than during the progressive years. Output and personal income grew more than 60% faster during the conservative period, while per capita income and employment grew over 100% faster.

 

The unemployment rate was slightly lower during the progressive period and the poverty rates were essentially the same.     

 

If Delaware citizens are interested in more economic opportunity, including greater personal income and more alternatives for employment, the conservative approach to state governance appears to be superior. Dr. John E. Stapleford, Director Center for Economic Policy and Research




 
 
 

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About the Caesar Rodney Institute
The Caesar Rodney Institute (CRI) is a Delaware-based, nonprofit 501(c)(3) research organization. As a nonpartisan public policy think tank, CRI provides fact-based analysis in four key areas: education, energy and environmental policy, the economy and government spending, and health policy.

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Our mission is to educate and inform Delawareans-including citizens, legislators, and community leaders-on issues that affect quality of life and opportunity.

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