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Tax incentives and the city

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Abstract

It is difficult to justify tax incentives within the existing economics literature on tax competition. We develop a model in which communities are interested in attracting firms not only for their own capital but also for the “concentration externalities,” a form of agglomeration economies, their location bestows on existing firms. We find that it is efficient in this case for communities to offer tax incentives, defined as a tax rate below the benefit tax level, to firms. We present the recent relocation of the Boeing Corporation's headquarters from Seattle to Chicago as a case study.

Suggested Citation

  • Teresa Garcia-Milà & Therese J. McGuire, 2001. "Tax incentives and the city," Economics Working Papers 631, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Dec 2001.
    • Handle: RePEc:upf:upfgen:631
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    Cited by:

    1. Mitch Kunce, 2022. "Decentralized Environmental Regulation with Agglomeration Forces," Business & Entrepreneurship Journal, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 11(1), pages 1-2.
    2. Mitch Kunce, 2023. "Decentralized Pollution Standard Setting with Agglomeration Forces Present in a Model of Specific Firm Mobility," Business & Entrepreneurship Journal, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 12(1), pages 1-3.
    3. Burbidge, John & Cuff, Katherine, 2005. "Capital tax competition and returns to scale," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 353-373, July.
    4. Felix, R. Alison & Hines, James R., 2013. "Who offers tax-based business development incentives?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 80-91.
    5. Michael Greenstone & Enrico Moretti, 2003. "Bidding for Industrial Plants: Does Winning a 'Million Dollar Plant' Increase Welfare?," NBER Working Papers 9844, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Matsumoto, Mutsumi & Feehan, James P., 2010. "Capital-tax financing and scale economies in public-input production," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(2-3), pages 116-121, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tax incentives; concentration externalities; agglomeration economies; tax competition; benefit tax;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H7 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations
    • R1 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics
    • R2 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis

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