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A new report looks at the impacts of the recession on both states and communities. One interesting finding
was that some areas continued to prosper, even during the economic hard times. Where were these areas? N.C. State University economist Mike Walden responds.

“Well, it’s all … about economic structure. And one constant we’ve seen in the economy even during the recession was the increased worldwide usage of commodities — everything from energy commodities (oil, gas) to food commodities (grains and meats and so forth).

“Therefore, if you have a local or state economy that has had a significant concentration in commodity production, then what we see over the last couple of years during the recession is those economies actually did fairly well. In the U.S., this has meant states like the Dakotas, Louisiana and Texas as well as other pockets around the U.S. did actually fairly well economically. And there were a couple even in North Carolina that focused on the agricultural commodities.

“So, this follows I think the old adage that something or someone is always doing well — you just have to find out who it is and where it is.”