Doctoral Dissertation Research: Geographically Targeted Economic Development Incentives and Business Outcomes: Evidence from the Enterprise Zone Programs

为了应对美国许多城市地区不断恶化的状况，州和地方政府采取了一项共同的政策措施，即提供税收和其他商业激励措施，以吸引或留住这些贫困地区的企业。 近几十年来，出现了各种各样的自主的、针对地理位置的倡议，通常称为企业区。 不同州的企业区在一些重要方面有很大的不同：为企业区提供的激励措施的类型和货币慷慨程度，选择指定为企业区的目标地区的标准，以及获得企业区激励措施的企业资格规则。 原则上，不同州最近的经验可以被认为是一个自然的实验，从中可以吸取宝贵的经验教训，以完善未来的地方经济发展工具。 本博士论文的研究课题是比较实证研究国有企业园区政策对民营企业的选址和生产决策的影响。 该分析将联合收割机信息的位置和激励组合的国家赞助的企业区与面板数据的经济成果。 结果数据包括关于地点、投入组合、就业和工资的机构一级数据以及整个国家经济活动的人口普查区一级总量。 回归分析将用于比较有无区域的地方的业务成果。 将使用不同的计量经济学方法来控制各国在指定前在经济活力有限的地点指定区域的倾向。 该项目将通过研究针对地域的激励措施是否能够振兴社区和刺激经济增长，促进对地方经济空间动态的了解。 它还将使政策制定者更好地了解哪些激励措施最有效，某些地区是否比其他地区更适合企业区解决方案，以及区域激励措施是否倾向于受到特定行业企业的青睐。 作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个强大的独立的研究生涯。

In response to deteriorating conditions in many U.S. urban areas, a common state and local policy initiative has been the provision of tax and other business incentives aimed at attracting or retaining businesses in these distressed areas. Over recent decades, a large variety of autonomous, geographically targeted initiatives, commonly referred to as enterprise zones, have emerged. The enterprise zones of different states vary considerably over a number of important dimensions: the type and the monetary generosity of the incentives offered to zone businesses, the criteria for selecting the targeted areas designated as enterprise zones, and the business eligibility rules to receive the enterprise zone incentives. In principle, the recent experience of different states can be thought of as a natural experiment from which valuable lessons can be learned to refine future local economic development tools. This doctoral dissertation research project will be a comparative empirical study of the impact of state enterprise zone policies on the location and production decisions of private firms. The analysis will combine information on the location and incentive mix of state-sponsored enterprise zones with panel data on economic outcomes. The outcomes data include both establishment-level data on location, input mixes, employment and wages as well as census tract level aggregates of economic activity for the entire nation. Regression analysis will be used to compare business outcomes in places with and without zones. Different econometric methods will be used to control for the tendency of states to designate zones in locations with limited economic vitality prior to designation. By examining whether geographically targeted incentives can revitalize communities and stimulate economic growth, this project will contribute to the understanding of the spatial dynamics of local economies. It will also give policy makers a better understanding of which incentives work best, whether some areas are better suited for enterprise zone solutions than others, and whether zone incentives tend to be favored by businesses of a particular industry. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.