Replication Data for: Company Towns: Single-Industry Dominance and Local Government Capacity

Many localities in the United States are, or have been at some point in their past, economically dependent on a single industry. This leaves local governments vulnerable to capture by dominant firms. In such places, business interests may shape not only policy outcomes, but the size, structure, and capacity of government itself. Focusing on the case of eastern coal country in the 20th century United States, this paper presents evidence that the coal industry hindered the growth of local government capacity where it was dominant. A difference-in-differences design and instrumental variables analysis show that coal-dependent counties employed fewer public workers, collected less tax revenue, and spent less on government services than comparable areas, with the latter two effects persisting long after the industry's decline. These findings illustrate that local political economy in the early phases of institutional development can shape the trajectories of governance in lasting ways.

美国诸多地区当前或曾在历史上高度依赖单一产业支撑本地经济发展，这使得地方政府极易被行业主导企业俘获。在此类辖区内，商业利益不仅可能左右政策制定的最终走向，更会直接塑造地方政府自身的规模、结构与履职能力。本文以20世纪美国东部煤炭产区为研究对象，通过实证分析证实，当煤炭产业成为当地主导产业时，会抑制地方政府履职能力的提升。本文采用双重差分法（difference-in-differences）与工具变量分析（instrumental variables analysis）展开研究，结果表明：相较于可比区域，煤炭依赖型县域的公职人员雇佣规模更小、税收收入更低，且政府服务支出水平也更低；即便在该产业衰退多年之后，后两项效应仍持续存在。本研究结果揭示，在制度发展的早期阶段，地方政治经济格局会以持久的方式形塑区域治理模式的演化路径。