G. Jason Jolley

Tax Incentives and Business Climate Executive Perceptions From Incented and Nonincented Firms

Executive surveys ranking business climate factors have become commonplace in site selection publications. However, these rankings rarely examine if the surveyed firms are receiving economic development incentives and whether or not these incentives influence business climate perceptions. This research note examines the differences in business climate perceptions in North Carolina between executives in companies receiving tax credits for business investment and job creation activities and executives in companies not receiving tax credits. Both groups rank the availability of skilled labor as the primary factor influencing business climate. In addition, executives in both groups prefer overall tax reductions rather than select tax incentives to improve the state’s economy. Contrary to the belief among many economic development practitioners that tax credits are a motivating factor for firms to engage in economic development, only 30% of executives in incented companies were aware that their company had received a state economic development tax credit.

Teaching tax increment finance: A policy simulation approach

ABSTRACT This article presents a policy simulation related to the logistics of establishing a Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District. It has been developed to be flexible in its delivery, and it is designed as a framework in which the complexity can be adjusted to meet the needs and knowledge level of the classroom in which it is being administered. The goals of the simulation are to convey a basic understanding of how tax increment financing can operate in the context of a local government economic development plan and provide the participants a simulated experience that requires planning, forecasting, and negotiation. The simulation stresses the collaborative nature of implementing sound public policy initiatives. Master of Public Administration or upper level undergraduate courses in budgeting, finance, public-private partnerships, or similar public management classes are ideal courses for using the simulation

Policy Implications of Projecting the Multiplier Effects of Social Safety Net Programs Using IMPLAN Reevaluating the Economic Impact of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

This study employs input–output (I/O) modeling at the state and county level to compare national estimates of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The results show that more localized economies cannot achieve the results predicted by national models likely because of leakage of economic activity outside the boundaries of a single state or county. This study sheds light on methodological tools that forecasters and policy makers can use in making decisions based on economic impact of social safety net programs.

Books & Resource Reviews

The article reviews the book “Leadership Can Be Taught: A Bold Approach for a Complex World,” by Sharon Daloz Parks.