The North Carolina Per-Capita Income Puzzle

On this site I’d like to explore with you a vexing economic question for residents of North Carolina. If we examine the period since 1960, we observe a puzzling phenomenon. By many measures of the residents’ aggregate standard of living, the state began as one of the poorer states in the United States. It then rapidly caught up to the US average in these measures, but in the 21st Century has given back these gains relative to the other states.

1. The North Carolina per-capita income puzzle
2. Is there really a puzzle?
3. Is North Carolina different in its demography?
4. Is it demography or economy?
5. Manufacturing’s role
6. The Ratchet Effect
7. Labor Force Participation
8. Do other states exhibit this puzzle?

I call this the per-capita income puzzle. In the short sections I have assembled and listed above, I provide a definition of the puzzle and descriptive information about economic phenomena that may be related to that puzzle. I will add to the list periodically. The sections are short, with historical charts to illustrate the phenomena I introduce. You may find the answer to this puzzle embedded in these sections, but I have not — I look forward to your responses and suggestions. I also provide references to statistical sources and more detailed readings if you’d like to dive deeper into any of these facets.