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作者

Ahmed Rachid El-Khattabi T. William Lester

来源

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY,Vol.33,Issue.3

语言

英文

关键字

Keywords tax increment financing, economic development incentives, economic impact

作者单位

1University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

摘要

The use of tax increment financing (TIF) remains a popular, yet highly controversial, tool among policy makers in their efforts to promote economic development. This study conducts a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of Missouri’s TIF program, specifically in Kansas City and St. Louis, in creating economic opportunities. We build a time-series data set starting 1990 through 2012 of detailed employment levels, establishment counts, and sales at the census block-group level to run a set of difference-in-differences with matching estimates for the impact of TIF at the local level. Although we analyze the impact of TIF on a wide set of indicators and across various industry sectors, we find no conclusive evidence that the TIF program in either city has a causal impact on key economic development indicators.