Over the past decade, the states of North Dakota and Texas -- as well as the Canadian province of Alberta -- have seen significant increases in oil production. Back in 2006, Alberta's oil sands development was referred to as Canada's "economic miracle." In 2012, we were still hearing this language. Of course, the same is often said about North Dakota and Texas. But are all the claims true? An unequivocal yes for North Dakota, a qualified yes for Texas, and an unequivocal no for Alberta. The following charts show the regional ratios against the corresponding national average since 2006 for the unemployment rate, as well as per capita real GDP, personal income, and personal disposable income.  Since 2006, Alberta's unemployment rate has significantly underperformed with regard to the Canadian national trend. On the other hand, North Dakota -- in particular -- and Texas have both performed much better than the overall federal trend. North Dakota has seen an exceptional rate of...(Read Full Post)