Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/263463 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 15247
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
A provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 offered tax incentives for investing in certain low-income areas in the United States called Opportunity Zones (OZs). The goal of this provision was to spur private investment in OZs in order to improve the economic well-being of their residents. This paper uses a regression discontinuity design to evaluate the impact of OZs on commercial investment and economic activity. Using data on the universe of all significant commercial investments in the United States, we find that OZ selection led to practically no increase in investment in OZs. These findings are supported by additional data from Mastercard that also show no evidence of increased business activity nor consumer spending. Overall, our findings suggest that the impact of OZs on economic improvement has thus far been limited.
Subjects: 
opportunity zones
investment
tax policy
poverty
JEL: 
H53
E22
D61
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
15.69 MB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.