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The Impacts of Opportunity Zones on Zone Residents

Author

Listed:
  • Matthew Freedman
  • Shantanu Khanna
  • David Neumark

Abstract

Created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, the Opportunity Zone program was designed to encourage investment in distressed communities across the U.S. We examine the early impacts of the Opportunity Zone program on residents of targeted areas. We leverage restricted-access microdata from the American Community Survey and employ difference-in-differences and matching approaches to estimate causal reduced-form effects of the program. Our results point to modest, if any, positive effects of the Opportunity Zone program on the employment, earnings, or poverty of zone residents.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew Freedman & Shantanu Khanna & David Neumark, 2021. "The Impacts of Opportunity Zones on Zone Residents," Working Papers 21-12, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    • Handle: RePEc:cen:wpaper:21-12
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    File URL: https://www2.census.gov/ces/wp/2021/CES-WP-21-12.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2021
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bondonio, Daniele & Engberg, John, 2000. "Enterprise zones and local employment: evidence from the states' programs," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 519-549, September.
    2. Neumark, David & Young, Timothy, 2019. "Enterprise zones, poverty, and labor market outcomes: Resolving conflicting evidence," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Matias Busso & Jesse Gregory & Patrick Kline, 2013. "Assessing the Incidence and Efficiency of a Prominent Place Based Policy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(2), pages 897-947, April.
    4. Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), 2015. "Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 5, number 5.
    5. 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.
    6. Freedman, Matthew, 2012. "Teaching new markets old tricks: The effects of subsidized investment on low-income neighborhoods," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(11), pages 1000-1014.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Anne Beck & Sebastian Doerr, 2023. "The financial origins of regional inequality," BIS Working Papers 1151, Bank for International Settlements.
    2. Cameron LAPOINT & Shogo SAKABE, 2021. "Place-Based Policies and the Geography of Corporate Investment," Discussion papers 21059, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    3. Ning Jia & Raven Molloy & Christopher Smith & Abigail Wozniak, 2023. "The Economics of Internal Migration: Advances and Policy Questions," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 61(1), pages 144-180, March.
    4. Manon Garrouste & Miren Lafourcade, 2022. "Place-Based Policies: Opportunity for Deprived Schools or Zone-and-Shame Effect?," Post-Print hal-04329793, HAL.
    5. Motyakina, Yana, 2023. "Территории Опережающего Развития И Занятость В Моногородах Российской Федерации [Priority development areas and employment in Russian cities]," MPRA Paper 117635, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Jiafeng Chen & Edward Glaeser & David Wessel, 2022. "JUE Insight: The (Non-)Effect of Opportunity Zones on Housing Prices," Papers 2204.06967, arXiv.org.
    7. Tim Bartik, 2023. "Seize the Time: Needed Research on Local Economic Development in an Era of Increased Attention to Problems of Place," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 37(1), pages 7-13, February.
    8. Corinth, Kevin & Feldman, Naomi E., 2022. "The Impact of Opportunity Zones on Commercial Investment and Economic Activity," IZA Discussion Papers 15247, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Opportunity Zones; Place-Based Policies; Tax Incentives; Employment; Poverty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R38 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Government Policy

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