What to Read on Rick Perry and the "Texas Miracle"
State Growth Rates: How Was Your Recession? -- Ryan Avent
Perry's Growth Failure in Texas -- Dean Baker
A Short Course in Miracles -- Paul Krugman
Yes, Texas has added more jobs -- but it has to, to keep up with population growth. And bear in mind that if you lose your job in Texas, there isn't much of a safety net.
The Texas Omen -- Paul Krugman
[The] Texas budget gap is worse than New York's, about as bad as California's, but not quite up to New Jersey levels.Among the states, Texas ranks near the bottom in education spending per pupil, while leading the nation in the percentage of residents without health insurance.
Behind the Population Shift -- Edward L. Glaeser
If economic productivity -- created by low regulations or anything else -- was causing the growth of Texas,...then [it] should have high per capita productivity and wages.Low incomes and productivity in [Texas] strongly suggest that [its] expansion is not driven by outsize economic success.
More on the Texas Story -- Paul Krugman
What could be causing that? [There] are two, not mutually exclusive stories: immigration and high birth rates among immigrants, leading to rapid population growth; and workers moving to Texas despite low wages because of cheap housing and a generally low cost of living.