RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Targeted Business Incentives and Local Labor Markets
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 311
OP 344
DO 10.3368/jhr.48.2.311
VO 48
IS 2
A1 Freedman, Matthew
YR 2013
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/48/2/311.abstract
AB This paper uses a regression discontinuity design to examine the effects of geographically targeted business incentives on local labor markets. Unlike elsewhere in the United States, enterprise zone (EZ) designations in Texas are determined in part by a cutoff rule based on census block group poverty rates. Exploiting this discontinuity as a source of quasi-experimental variation in investment and hiring incentives across areas, I find that EZ designation has a positive effect on resident employment, increasing opportunities mainly in lower-paying industries. While business sitings spurred by the program are more geographically diffuse, EZ designation is associated with increases in home values.