Money for Nothing Industrial Tax Abatements and Economic Development [Hardcover]

Previous studies have examined either the impact of economic development incentives or the changing manufacturing base of urbanized regions. One of the many contributions this book makes is to unpack the connection between the two: did policy play a role in stemming or hastening manufacturing decline in Michigan? Policy makers will not be happy with their findings, which is all the more reason why Reese and Sands' book should be required reading for public officials with authority over public expenditures and tax abatements.Although widely utilized, industrial property tax abatements have a dubious record of accomplishments. In addition to failing to deliver promised jobs and investments, tax abatements appear to contribute to urban sprawl, impose substantial cost burdens on older municipalities and have limited positive effects on community economic health, This book uses Michigans Industrial Facilities Tax abatement program to develop policy recommendations to make the use of these incentives more efficient and equitable.Tax incentives are a mainstay of state and local economic development strategies and have been so for decades. Evaluations of their effectiveness have provided mixed results and few recommendations that have been translated into actual policy modifications. Since the mid-1970s, the State of Michigan has allowed local governments to grant substantial property tax abatements for new investments in real and personal industrial property. The program has been extremely popular, with more than 400 different municipalities granting a total of over 17,000 abatements. Despite its prominence, the program has been subject to only limited analysis at either the State or local level. This book systematically evaluates several different dimensions of industrial property tax abatements:The book utilizes a number of analytical techniques, including GIS, regression, factor, and shift-share analyses. While the data are drawn from a single state, they represel3…