Die "Flo-Mi-Ca - Rezession"

Nicht alle amerikanischen Bundesstaaten sind gleichermaßen von anhaltend hoher Arbeitslosigkeit betroffen. Es ist vielmehr so, dass sich das Problem insbesondere in drei Bundesstaaten ganz besonders heftig manifestiert: in Florida, Kalifornien und Michigan. Warum dem so ist? Ed Glaeser hat eine Erklärung parat:

At the other end of the spectrum are Florida, Michigan and California — the epicenters of the downturn. Together, those states contain 39 of the 65 metropolitan areas in the 50 states with unemployment rates above 12 percent. They contained a majority of the areas with unemployment rates of more than 12 percent a year ago, as well. There are certainly places outside of this three-state group that have suffered greatly, like Nevada; Providence, R.I.; and especially Yuma, Ariz., which has an unemployment rate of 28.7 percent.

But Florida, Michigan and California are the three large states with unemployment rates of 12 percent or more.

Why has economic pain come to three states that are, in so many ways, completely unlike each other? One view is that their current suffering is the hangover of past success and a reflection of an abundance of people relative to economic activity. [...]

It is a great thing that the world has grown rich enough that people can choose where to live on the basis of climate or glossy new housing, rather than earnings.

But any time there are lot of people relative to economic activity, a city is vulnerable, which perhaps explains why such an unlikely combination of states have come together to give us the Flo-Mi-Ca recession.