This paper evaluates the impact of Round I of the federal urban Empowerment Zone (EZ) program on neighborhood level labor and housing market outcomes over the period 1994-2000. Using four decades of Census data in conjunction with information on the proposed boundaries of rejected EZs, we find...

Geographically-targeted tax incentives remain popular initiatives in response to deteriorating economic conditions of urban and industrial areas. This paper exploits the exogenous variations of the U.S. state Enterprise Zone programs to estimate the impact of various incentive features on a...

This paper examines the effects of a generous, spatially-targeted economic development policy (the federal Empowerment Zone program) on local neighborhood characteristics and on the neighborhood quality of life, taking into account the interactions amongst the policy, changes in neighborhood...

Using administrative tax data that contain information on firm credit take-up and employee residence, we examine the impact of the Empowerment Zone and Renewal Community employment tax credits on local labor. We find modest evidence that zone designation improves labor market outcomes among...