The traditional role of the property tax as the fiscal mainstay of local governments in the United States has been much diminished in the last two decades. Because of restrictions imposed by state governments and statewide electorates, the property tax has become more of a fiscal and political...

The authors analyze the impact of tax increment financing (TIF) on urban industrial property values. In Chicago, it does not increase values, they find. Indeed, being located in a TIF district might lower a property's value. However, property values should not be the only measure of a TIF's...