STATE-SPECIFIC ESTIMATES OF STATE AND LOCAL-GOVERNMENT CAPITAL

I present estimates of capital accumulation by state and local governments in each state between 1960 and 1988, based on information from the Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Such estimates are useful for many research purposes. Munnell (1990a) also estimates state and local government capital using similar sources, but exploits the data in a different manner. In the method employed by Munnell, the capital stock in a state is sensitive to relative rates of capital accumulation among all states. In practice, the approach used herein results in larger public sector capital stocks in higher-population states.