Category Archives: Incentive design issues

All business incentives are not created equal

Posted on December 4, 2012 by timbartik

Kenneth Thomas has a useful blog post pointing out that the New York Times database on business incentives, which accompanies Louise Story’s series, includes sales tax exemptions for business purchases of goods and services. Thomas’s figures, which are consistent with … Continue reading →

Posted in Business incentives, Economic development, Incentive design issues | 2 Comments

Film production incentives as economic development policy: why are they problematic?

Posted on December 4, 2012 by timbartik

Louise Story’s series in the New York Times on state and local business incentives concludes with an article (December 4, 2012) on film subsidies, highlighting Michigan’s experience. Why are film production incentives so problematic as economic development policy? I wrote … Continue reading →

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What should policymakers do about state and local business incentives?

Posted on December 2, 2012 by timbartik

Louise Story of the New York Times has a series, starting December 2nd (2012), on state and local business incentives. Full disclosure: I was interviewed by Ms. Story for the series, and I am quoted in the first article. From … Continue reading →

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Is our political system really interested in focusing on job creation for the long-term unemployed?

Posted on November 20, 2012 by timbartik

The more I read about the inside political debates during the Great Recession and its aftermath, the more I doubt whether the current U.S. political system puts a top priority on boosting employment among the long-term unemployed. For example, based … Continue reading →

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Why some business tax credits are so costly per job created

Posted on October 12, 2012 by timbartik

A just-posted working paper, by my colleague Kevin Hollenbeck and me, examined the state of Washington’s business tax credit for R&D spending.  Our conclusion is that this tax credit is quite costly per job created.  The cost per job-year created … Continue reading →

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Business taxation and state economic development goals

Posted on August 31, 2012 by timbartik

The Upjohn Institute has posted a recent working paper of mine, co-authored with my colleague George Erickcek, that looks at how different types of business tax cuts affect economic development goals such as job creation. The Institute’s website also right … Continue reading →

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Improving evaluation of economic development programs

Posted on April 30, 2012 by timbartik

The Pew Center on the States recently released a major study analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of what states are currently doing to assess their tax incentives for economic development. (I should disclose that I reviewed an advance copy of … Continue reading →

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Early childhood programs and local economic development: supply-side economics or Keynesian economics?

Posted on February 14, 2012 by timbartik

I recently encountered the statement that my book was in some way based on Keynesian economics, which is thought by some to be politically controversial. I have nothing against Keynesian economics as a way of analyzing business cycles and macroeconomic … Continue reading →

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Generating good jobs: what role for government?

Posted on January 23, 2012 by timbartik

I have been asked by some persons my reaction to the recent New York Times article by Motoko Rich on state customized job training programs. I have argued that state customized job training programs can be an effective way of … Continue reading →

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State economic development policies: what works?

Posted on November 30, 2011 by timbartik

I delivered a speech about  state economic development policies on November 30, 2011. The presentation was made in D.C. at the 19th Annual State Fiscal Policy Conference of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The text of my prepared … Continue reading →

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