LAUSR

Most job losses in the United States (US) prior to and after the great recession were manufacturing related jobs as domestic producers decided to shift production to offshore locations. This also included export-oriented jobs. Almost 6% of total US exports comprise agricultural products. We therefore, investigate if agricultural exports increase median household income and decreased unemployment rate using a sophisticated simultaneous equation model. The results show that for Midwestern states an increase in animal and plant exports increased the median household income albeit minimally for majority of the states. We also empirically verify that an increase in the unemployment rate results in a decrease in median household income.