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Louisville’s Economic Opportunity Zones: A Rerun of the Old Louisville Enterprise Zone Program?

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  • Lambert, Thomas

Abstract

In 2017 the US Congress passes and President Donald J. Trump signs the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Part of the legislation allows states to create economic opportunity zones (EOZs), census tracts which will be targeted for business investment and economic development through federal tax incentives. In Louisville, Kentucky, as in other jurisdictions throughout the US over the last several decades, special district “zones” have been used by local, state, and/or the federal government(s) to try to revive low-income, deteriorated, and blighted areas. These have been typically urban areas but sometimes have included semi-rural and rural areas. Whether named enterprise zones, empowerment zones, or currently, economic opportunity zones, such programs have received mixed reviews over the years. This paper looks at the current EOZs in Louisville, and similar to other studies looking at EOZs, finds only slight improvement at best so far in results. The exception is an area of the city that has been undergoing a great deal of gentrification already. With this in mind, and with the shortcomings chronicled on the old Louisville enterprise zone (EZ) that exists from 1983 to 2003, this paper speculates on and offers some reasons for why such economic development efforts, despite their mixed reviews, persist.

Suggested Citation

  • Lambert, Thomas, 2024. "Louisville’s Economic Opportunity Zones: A Rerun of the Old Louisville Enterprise Zone Program?," MPRA Paper 121223, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:121223
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    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/121223/2/MPRA_paper_121223.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Papke, Leslie E., 1994. "Tax policy and urban development : Evidence from the Indiana enterprise zone program," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 37-49, May.
    2. Thomas E. Lambert & Paul A. Coomes, 2001. "An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Louisville’s Enterprise Zone," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 15(2), pages 168-180, May.
    3. Boarnet, Marlon G. & Bogart, William T., 1996. "Enterprise Zones and Employment: Evidence from New Jersey," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 198-215, September.
    4. Freedman, Matthew & Khanna, Shantanu & Neumark, David, 2023. "JUE Insight: The Impacts of Opportunity Zones on Zone Residents," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    5. Hokey Min & Thomas E. Lambert, 2010. "The utilisation of foreign trade zones in the global supply chain: an exploratory study," International Journal of Services and Operations Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 6(2), pages 110-125.
    6. Alan Sage & Mike Langen & Alex van de Minne, 2023. "Where is the opportunity in opportunity zones?," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 51(2), pages 338-371, March.
    7. James R. Barth & Yanfei Sun & Shen Zhang, 2021. "Opportunity zones: do tax benefits go to the most distressed communities?," Journal of Financial Economic Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(3), pages 301-316, April.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    economic opportunity zones; empowerment zones; enterprise zones;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B50 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - General
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R28 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Government Policy

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