THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Abstract

As the United States and the rest of the world struggled with the Great Depression, New Jersey’s state and local governments struggled to find ways to bring in revenue and provide relief. When the Great Depression hit New Jersey in the 1930’s, the state faced a financial crisis. As previously reliable sources of revenue dried up, the state government was left searching for other tax sources through taxes, bond sales, and aid from the federal government. Over the decade, the State of New Jersey and its governors levied new taxes, fought high profile legal battles, reorganized the state civil service, and contended with the overarching influence of the political bosses. The first part of this thesis examines the policy battles of the New Jersey State government and its successes and failures in bringing in new sources of tax revenue. The second part of this thesis is an econometric analysis on the factors that drove state tax revenue in states across the United States.