Wisconsin GDP ex-Madison ex-Milwaukee

Robin Vos has suggested Wisconsin would be much more Republican (hence “better”) without Madison and Milwaukee. I wondered what an ex-Madison and ex-Milwaukee Wisconsin economic output would look like. Here’s the picture.


Figure 1: GDP associated with Madison and Milwaukee (blue) and with rest-of-Wisconsin (red), in millions of dollars. Source: BEA and author’s calculations.

Nearly half of Wisconsin nominal GDP is accounted for by the two largest cities. What about contributions to GDP growth?


Figure 2: Contributions to overall nominal GDP growth associated with Madison and Milwaukee (blue) and with rest-of-Wisconsin (red). Source: BEA and author’s calculations.

In 2016, Madison and Milwaukee accounted for 2/3 of growth; over half over the 2016-17 period.

What about more recent trends? Nominal GDP associated with agriculture is down 4.9% in the first two quarters of 2018 relative to the same period in 2017 — and that is a period that encompasses the actual hit to some agricultural exports imposed by China. In contrast, manufacturing nominal output has risen by 5.6%. This suggests that come the 2018 release, we will see the Madison-Milwaukee share of GDP will have risen.

19 thoughts on “Wisconsin GDP ex-Madison ex-Milwaukee”

  1. noneconomist

    Very much like some deluded northern Californians who can’t stand the Bay Area-Silicon Valley. Or, more obviously, the liberal entrepreneurship and diversity that flourishes there. There’s a far right contingent who want to split the valley/ mountain/ NE counties into a separate state, even through those counties have little in the way of modern economic development, or any real development for that matter.
    Also on board are a number of counties that depend on agriculture and finding enough workers (and we all know what that means) to sustain production. All counties are lightly populated with multiple national forests included.
    In other words, this a dream perpetuated by your typical know nothing bozos. When you hear one of them blow harding, you’re reminded of the classic Seinfeld: “If you say Bozo, do you really need to add ‘The Clown'”?

    1. pgl

      “Very much like some deluded northern Californians who can’t stand the Bay Area-Silicon Valley. ”

      PeakTrader lives in the woods of Northern California? It figures!

      1. noneconomist

        PT’s immense knowledge of California history and geography, his encyclopedic grasp of the California economy, and his uncanny ability to understand the state’s rapidly changing demographics have indeed marked him as THE pre-eminent scholar in all things California.
        He’s the original California state globetrotter.
        Who needed Huell Howser when he already had PT?
        Had it not been for PT, I would never have known that my own existence had suffered so miserably in the past few years. Why, after typing this, I plan to stand on a street corner in town with a sign reading “Downtrodden Middle Class Old Guy! Please donate and help me update my Ipad !”

    2. dilbert dogbert

      Just large scale Gerrymandering. Splits off the blue from the red creating 4 new thug senators. Winning!!!!

  2. 2slugbaits

    It’s “Affirmative Action” for white, rural voters. Or as they used to say on Animal Farm: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

    1. pgl

      ‘Or as they used to say on Animal Farm: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

      Come to the Uppity East Side of Manhattan where a lot of people like Donald J. Trump treat the “help” like animals as in dogs and donkeys. It is this arrogant behavior that led me to move to Brooklyn!

  3. pgl

    “Wisconsin would be much more Republican (hence “better”) without Madison and Milwaukee.

    New York State outside of New York City would be Republican. They would also be nearly broke begging DC for handouts.

  4. PGL

    “In much of Wisconsin, “Madison and Milwaukee” are code words (to some, dog whistles) for the parts of the state that are nonwhite, elite, different: The cities are where people don’t have to work hard with their hands, because they’re collecting welfare or public-sector paychecks.”

    This is the opening of the link. Dog whistles – eh?! People who live in the cities are lazy living off of welfare? Lord – this stereotype is so factually wrong.

      1. Moses Herzog

        Strange how voter fraud and voter suppression in Florida and in North Carolina doesn’t seem to phase Mr. Livermore.
        https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/us/politics/north-carolina-election-fraud.html

        https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/07/dan-mccready-north-carolina-house-election-1051829

        https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/12/us/politics/republicans-florida-recount.html

        https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article218654810.html

        https://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/why-florida-really-changed-its-voting-rules/

        How do older people worried about their Medicare, Medicaid, and cheaper Rx supplies vote?? And which party do most blacks feel represents their views best?? It’s not rocket science kids, Republican and GOP leaders find the Counties and precincts where the elderly and blacks are and squash their vote by any means necessary. You wanna know why things like Antifa exist?? Because of crap like that. Of course the white trash that collect more government benefits than blacks could dream of LOVE when they hear the black counties had their votes thrown in the garbage. Katherine Harris probably gets free booze at any Republican bar hangout to this very day. And Harris “coincidentally” got her little House seat too didn’t she?? How cozy.

  6. Bruce Hall

    Urban areas have alway been the source of concentrated wealth and poverty simply because of population density. So, it makes sense that Wisconsin (or most any other state) would be dependent on its urban areas for most of its growth. North Dakota may be an exception because of oil exploration in the hinterlands. Texas’ Permian area may well be another exception, but Texas has a significant urban population, so the wealth generated from vast oil reserves may only be a small share of total GDP there. https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2018/comm/acs-5yr-income-completely-rural.html

    The flip side of the argument is that urban areas are also concentrating poverty and crime. The low population density of rural areas tend to reduce both wealth and poverty extremes. The homeless have no options in rural areas https://www.usich.gov/tools-for-action/map/#fn%5B%5D=1500&fn%5B%5D=2900&fn%5B%5D=6100&fn%5B%5D=10100&fn%5B%5D=14100 although rural areas have lower average incomes than urban areas; the wealthy choose the greater options of the urban areas. So, Wisconsin might be like South Dakota without Milwaukee and Madison. That’s not saying Wisconsin is better than South Dakota or vice versa; just different. https://www.bea.gov/news/2018/gross-domestic-product-state-2nd-quarter-2018.

    1. pgl

      “Urban areas have alway been the source of concentrated wealth and poverty simply because of population density.”

      Alway(s)? Well if one has a right wing government that does not even try to have more balanced growth and income equality – then well yea. But there are governments who do tax the well to do to take care of the rest of the citizens of the city. I lived in Dublin, Ireland for a short while and they took great pride in that.

      1. Bruce Hall

        pgl, ah Dublin.
        • https://www.mylifeelsewhere.com/cost-of-living/milwaukee-c3928/dublin-c6043
        • https://www.thejournal.ie/poverty-ireland-2-2862501-Jul2016/
        • https://www.irp.wisc.edu/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/WI-PovertyReport2018.pdf
        • http://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Milwaukee-Wisconsin.html

        Dublin population ~ 600,000 (NA% in poverty)/ Ireland ~ 4.8 million (18% in poverty)
        City of Milwaukee population ~ 600,000 (33% in poverty) / Wisconsin ~ 5.8 million (12% in poverty)

        Yes, I’ll reiterate: Urban areas have alway been the source of concentrated wealth and poverty simply because of population density.

  7. Samuel

    I tend to think Mr. Vos and Mr. Fitzgerald are fighting some cultural war of a generation ago with their comments about Madison (https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/mayor-proposes-city-motto-square-miles-surrounded-by-reality/article_b47d7157-1f82-50bd-a18f-babcc4271b9f.html ). I see more young IT professionals that work at EPIC systems than crunchy hippies in Madison.

    They also fail to mention that other smaller urban areas (Eau Claire, La Crosse, Janesville, Kenosha) and several rural areas (Southwestern Wisconsin, far North) all voted blue. While the Fox Valley and other areas turned light red. Indeed, it was winning these votes in more rural areas that gave Mr. Evers the edge.

    Overall, as historical results suggest Wisconsin is more purple than deep red GOP. Even, Mr. Vos and Mr. Fitzgerald districts were less red. These latest moves by the WI GOP may be further dividing itself into irrelevance and away from their own districts. (Also, was anything done to save the jobs at Kimberly Clark as the GOP promised when they said that is why they were doing a lame duck session? I am sure those voters will remember that fondly next time they vote.)

  8. Moses Herzog

    Semi off-topic Even though this is off topic, this is one of those that since I think Menzie has at least a passing interest in politics and certainly an interest in policy prescriptions I imagine in my head Menzie might take an interest in (correctly or incorrectly imagine). The part in this that caught my eye was a phrase used by the journalist Caitlin Oprysko and I’m wondering if others find it fascinating as well. I’ve talked before how reading things, and certain words will just jump out at you or lunge at you from the page. The part the lunged out at me I put in bold print:

    “The focus of the board’s investigation is a subcontractor named Leslie McCrae Dowless, a Harris campaign employee contracted out by a firm advising the Harris campaign, who is accused of illegally collecting absentee ballots from voters and altering or potentially destroying those ballots. Harris and his campaign have maintained that they knew of no illegal activity, though Dowless has reportedly had a reputation for shady absentee ballot work in the district. On Friday, Harris put out a video on social media that said he would ‘wholeheartedly’ welcome a new election in the district if the board’s investigation uncovers proof of fraud.”
    https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/10/north-carolina-mccready-special-election-1054208

    My question is, how does one gain “A reputation for shady absentee ballot work in the district”??—and why do we only find out about these people after the election has been held?? If someone has a known reputation for such things, shouldn’t law enforcement or whatever agency (FBI??) is supposed to oversee vote tampering already be all over Dowless’ ass when the elections are being held or immediately before??

    Oprysko also writes: “Dowless, a Harris campaign employee contracted out by a firm” My other question is, Why the F— can’t Oprysko tell us the name of the firm?? Oprysko knows it’s Dowless and Oprysko knows Dowless was “contracted out” but can’t tell us the NAME of the F’ing firm??

    Who of any intelligence believes that Oprysko doesn’t know the name of the firm Dowless was “contracted out” by?? Not me, I’ll tell you that F’ing much.

Comments are closed.