Search the Centre for Economic Performance Website
LSE US Centre: How the Panama Canal reshaped the economic geography of the United States
22 July 2019
More than a century ago, the opening of the Panama Canal revolutionized international trade by making it much quicker and easier to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. But, write Stephan Maurer and Ferdinand Rauch, the canal's opening also had a significant impact on the economic geography of the US. By examining county level data from 1900 to 2000, they find that those places that enjoyed better market access because of the canal also saw greater population growth, higher manufacturing wages and increased out of state immigration.