Findings
The two-year rule
Estimates of a state’s growth agree only loosely with the final figure until about two years after the fiscal year ends, and closely after that.
The league table
The ranking of states by growth at first publication is a weak guide to the ranking that the revised figures later give.
Money
State GDP enters the Finance Commission’s formula and the borrowing ceiling, so revised figures would have sent money to different states and set different ceilings.