Replication Data for: Beyond Relief: The Lasting Legacy of New Deal Spending on the Geography of Government

We offer a novel explanation for why some local economies are more dependent on government than others: New Deal era public works programs. We argue that these programs --- designed as temporary economic relief --- reshaped some local economies around public institutions (e.g., hospitals, universities, and federal buildings) and employment. Once established, these public facilities and payrolls created material and political barriers to retrenchment, effectively locking in the state's local presence over the long term. Consistent with this argument, a difference-in-differences event study analysis of county-level data shows that New Deal spending produced lasting increases in public sector employment through 2020. Additional analyses reveal that these investments both reinforced existing centers of government activity (e.g., state capital counties) and extended the state's reach into the previously less developed rural periphery.