Rhode Island, as in most of the nation, has experienced economic growth since 2010. But in that period the Ocean State has seen cumulative growth at a rate that is roughly 75 percent as large as the United States as a whole.
(Ocean State growth is tracked by the Rhode Island Current Economic Indicator, while U.S. growth is measured in gross domestic product denominated in 2009 dollars.)
The starting point for this comparison, the fourth quarter of 2010, showed that while Rhode Island experienced a 12-month economic growth rate of 1.95 percent then, the U.S. saw growth of 2.73 percent. And we have been playing catch up ever since.
By the end of the time period (which was chosen because the 2010 Q4 number is as far back as the R.I. ECI goes), Rhode Island’s economy had grown a cumulative 36.55 percent. The U.S. in the same period had grown 47.5 percent.
For 2013 and half of 2014, it looked like Little Rhody was making up some ground on the nation, but since then, as U.S. growth accelerates, ours falls further behind. As a result, it is easy to understand the impulse to stimulate the state’s economy. What is not so easy is divining just what kind of stimulus will make a difference. •
