This paper studies the long-run effects of government-led construction of manufacturing plants on the regions where they were built and on individuals from those regions. Specifically, we examine publicly financed plants built in dispersed locations outside of major urban centers for security reasons during the United States’ industrial mobilization for World War II. Wartime plant construction had large and persistent impacts on local development, characterized by an expansion of relatively high-wage manufacturing employment throughout the postwar era. These benefits were shared by incumbent residents; we find men born before WWII in counties where plants were built earned ${\$}$1,200 (in 2020 dollars) or 2.5 percent more per year in adulthood relative to those born in counterfactual comparison regions, with larger benefits accruing to children of lower-income parents. The balance of evidence suggests that these individuals benefited primarily from the local expansion of higher-wage jobs to which they had access as adults, rather than because of developmental effects from exposure to better environments during childhood.

中文翻译：

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公共工业投资对地方发展和经济流动性的长期影响——来自第二次世界大战的证据


本文研究了政府主导建设制造工厂对建造工厂的地区和这些地区的个人的长期影响。具体来说，我们研究了在美国为第二次世界大战进行工业动员期间出于安全原因在主要城市中心以外的分散地点建造的公共资助工厂。战时工厂建设对当地发展产生了巨大而持久的影响，其特点是整个战后时期相对高薪制造业就业的扩张。这些福利由现任居民分享;我们发现，二战前出生在建厂县的男性在成年后的收入为 1,200 美元（按 2020 年美元计）或相对于出生在反事实比较地区的男性高出 2.5%，低收入父母的孩子受益更大。证据的平衡表明，这些人主要受益于他们成年后可以从事的高薪工作的当地扩张，而不是因为童年时期暴露于更好的环境对发展的影响。