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Do Location-Based Tax Incentives Improve Quality Of Life And Quality Of Business Environment?

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  • C. Lockwood Reynolds
  • Shawn Rohlin

Abstract

type="main"> We examine how location-based tax incentives affect quality of life and business environment through changes in property values and equilibrium wages. Using the federal Empowerment Zone program, we determine whether offering tax incentives to firms improves the welfare of the citizens and attractiveness to firms. We demonstrate that quality of life methodologies can be applied using small geographically aggregated data, such as census block groups. We find that the tax incentives offered by the program notably enhances the quality of business environment for firms in the area while modestly improving the quality of life for the individuals living in the area.

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  • C. Lockwood Reynolds & Shawn Rohlin, 2014. "Do Location-Based Tax Incentives Improve Quality Of Life And Quality Of Business Environment?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 1-32, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jregsc:v:54:y:2014:i:1:p:1-32
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    4. Amanda L. Weinstein & Michael Hicks & Emily Wornell, 2023. "An aggregate approach to estimating quality of life in micropolitan areas," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 70(2), pages 447-476, April.
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    8. Clemente J. Navarro-Yáñez, 2021. "The Effectiveness of Integral Urban Strategies: Policy Theory and Target Scale. The European URBAN I Initiative and Employment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, June.
    9. Reynolds, C. Lockwood & Rohlin, Shawn M., 2015. "The effects of location-based tax policies on the distribution of household income: Evidence from the federal Empowerment Zone program," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 1-15.
    10. James Alm & Trey Dronyk-Trosper & Sean Larkin, 2021. "In the land of OZ: designating opportunity zones," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 188(3), pages 503-523, September.
    11. Binkai Chen & Ming Lu & Christopher Timmins & Kuanhu Xiang, 2019. "Spatial Misallocation: Evaluating Place-Based Policies Using a Natural Experiment in China," NBER Working Papers 26148, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    13. John Dove & Daniel Sutter, 2018. "Is There a Tradeoff Between Economic Development Incentives and Economic Freedom? Evidence from the US States," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 48(1), pages 55-69, Spring.
    14. Yong Chen & David J. Lewis & Bruce Weber, 2016. "Conservation Land Amenities And Regional Economies: A Postmatching Difference-In-Differences Analysis Of The Northwest Forest Plan," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(3), pages 373-394, June.
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    16. Cai, Zhengyu, 2020. "Imperfect Mobility," GLO Discussion Paper Series 623, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    17. Donald Vandegrift & John Loyer, 2015. "The Effect Of Walmart And Target On The Tax Base: Evidence From New Jersey," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 159-187, March.

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