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In an effort to spur economic development in distressed and left-behind communities, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created more than 8,700 Opportunity Zones across the country and offered favorable capital gains tax treatment to investments in those low-incomes communities. Although Opportunity Zones are still young, they are already stimulating rigorous research.
To share, discuss, and critique that work, the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings convened a virtual conference on Wednesday, February 24. Ed Glaeser of Harvard gave opening remarks, followed by a presentation from Kenan Fikri of the Economic Innovation Group. There were then four sessions, organized by topic, each containing several paper presentations and discussant responses.
Scroll down to watch video by session.
Agenda
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February 24
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Introduction
10:00 am - 10:30 am
Introduction
David Wessel, Brookings Hutchins CenterOpening remarks
Ed Glaeser, Harvard UniversityPresentation
Kenan Fikri, Economic Innovation GroupDownloads -
Choosing the Zones
10:30 am - 11:30 am
“What determines where opportunity knocks? Political affiliation in the selection and early effects of Opportunity Zones”
- Mary Margaret Frank, University of Virginia Darden School of Business
- Jeffrey Hoopes, University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School
- Rebecca Lester, Stanford Graduate School of Business
“Does government play favorites? Evidence from Opportunity Zones”
- Ofer Eldar, Duke University
- Chelsea Garber, Duke University
Discussant: Brett Theodos, Urban Institute
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Labor market effects
11:40 am - 1:10 pm
“What is the impact of Opportunity Zones on employment?”
- Rachel Atkins, New York University Stern School of Business
- Pablo Hernández-Lagos, New York University, Abu Dhabi
- Cristian Jara-Figueroa, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Robert Seamans, New York University Stern School of Business
“Job growth from Opportunity Zones”
- Alina Arefeva, University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin School of Business
- Morris Davis, Rutgers University Business School
- Andra Ghent, University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School
- Minseon Park, University of Wisconsin-Madison
“The impacts of Opportunity Zones on zone residents”
- David Neumark, University of California, Irvine
- Matthew Freedman, University of California, Irvine
- Shantanu Khanna, University of California, Irvine
Discussants
- Tim Bartik, Upjohn Institute
- Aaron Hedlund, University of Missouri & Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis
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Case studies
1:40 pm - 2:30 pm
“Was gentrification a factor in designation of Opportunity Zones?: A study of 100 most populous cities with DC as case study”
- Haydar Kurban, Howard University
- Charlotte Otabor, DC Office of the Chief Financial Officer
- Bethel Cole, Howard University
Discussant: Nate Jensen, University of Texas-Austin
“Missed opportunity: The West Baltimore Opportunity Zones story”
- Sandra Newman, Johns Hopkins University
- Michael Snidal, Columbia University
Discussant: Ben Seigel, Baltimore Development Corp.
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Property price effects
2:30 pm - 4:15 pm
“The impact of Opportunity Zones on commercial investment and economic activity”
- Kevin Corinth, University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy
- Naomi Feldman, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
“Where is the opportunity in Opportunity Zones?”
- Alan Sage, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Real Estate
- Mike Langen, University of Reading Henley Business School
- Alex van de Minne, University of Connecticut Business School
“Do Opportunity Zones create opportunities?”
- James Alm, Tulane University
- Trey Dronyk-Trosper, Amazon
- Sean Larkin, Tulane University
“The (non-)effect of Opportunity Zones on housing prices”
- Jiafeng (Kevin) Chen, Harvard University
- Ed Glaeser, Harvard University
- David Wessel, Brookings Hutchins Center
Discussants:
- Susan Wachter, University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business
- Carlianne Elizabeth Patrick, Georgia State University
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Closing conversation
4:15 pm - 4:30 pm
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