This paper makes use of a unique data set to explore the issue of whether inner-city residents are more likely to be hired by a new inner-city development than non-residents. A selection model with partial observability is specified and estimated. This partial observability estimates at the...

There is growing concern in the U.S. that the nation is producing too few college graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and there is a desire to understand how various policies affect college major decisions. This paper first uses student administrative...

We examine the effect of a state-funded property tax homestead exemptions on the burden of property taxes. This class of exemptions is characterized by a grant from the state to local governments that is intended to replace the reduction in property tax revenue due to the exemption. The median...

Alternative hypotheses exist regarding the impact of local sales and income taxes on local governments’ taxing and spending decisions. One hypothesis is that local governments use sales and income taxes to pay for spending increases and leave property tax collections unchanged, while an...

Georgia’s principal state-level economic development tax incentive program has been a set of income tax credits known as Georgia’s BEST program. Shortly after taking office in January 1999, Governor Barnes requested a study of BEST that would serve as the basis for recommending...

Many previous studies have examined the level of state grants to local K-12 school districts. However, these studies have not considered the role of citizen "trust" in state versus local governments as a factor. We hypothesize that the role of the state in funding education reflects citizen...

Historically, local governments in the United States have relied on the property tax as one of their main sources of own-source revenues. However, the recent collapse of housing prices and the resulting negative impact on local government budgets suggest that it may be opportune to rethink this...