Work

Do enterprise zones create jobs? Evidence from California’s enterprise zone program

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: We use new establishment-level data and geographic mapping methods to improve upon evaluations of the effectiveness of state enterprise zones, focusing on California’s program. Because zone boundaries do not follow census tracts or zip codes, we created digitized maps of original zone boundaries and later expansions. We combine these maps with geocoded observations on most businesses located in California. The evidence indicates that enterprise zones do not increase employment. We also find no shift of employment toward the lower-wage workers targeted by enterprise zone incentives. We conclude that the program is ineffective in achieving its primary goals.

Source: Journal of Urban Economics

DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2010.01.002

Authors: David Neumark, Jed Kolko

Institutions: Public Policy Institute of California, University of California, Irvine

Language: English

Topic: Economic Zones and Regional Development

Subfield: General Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: green

Funder: Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation