Learn more about the latest thinking on the leading incentives issues from Smart Incentives and our partners. 

Evolving Incentives for Today’s Priorities. Site Selection, November 2022.

Seeding an Inclusive and Equitable Recovery, Smart Incentives (Darrene Hackler, Ellen Harpel) and Kauffman Foundation (Jessica Looze and Jessica Milli). July 2022.

Leaving No One Behind: Finding Policy Solutions to Eliminate Barriers to Work for People with Disabilities, Smart Incentives (Regan Price and Ellen Harpel). June 2022.

Findings on Remote Worker Attraction Programs, Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness and Smart Incentives. April 2022.

Incentives for Entrepreneurial Firms and Technical and Policy Appendices, Smart Incentives (Ellen Harpel and Darrene Hackler) for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. August 2021.

2020-2021 Guidance Papers – Prepared for the State Economic Development Executives Network

Integrating Equity into Incentive Metrics. Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness and Smart Incentives. November 2021.

Repositioning Economic Development Incentives Post-Pandemic. Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness and Smart Incentives. March 2021.

Addressing Remote Work in State Business Incentive Programs. Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness and Smart Incentives. January 2021.

Estimating the Influence of Incentives on Investment Decisions. A New Approach to the But-For Question. Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness and Smart Incentives. November 2020.

Incentive Adjustments – Implications for Reporting and Evaluation. Guidance on Documenting Incentive Program Changes. Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness and Smart Incentives. August 2020.

Guidance on Adjusting Discretionary Incentive Programs to Support Small Business Recovery. Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness and Smart Incentives. July 2020.

Guide to Help States Adjust Incentive Agreements in Response to the Economic Crisis.  Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness and Smart Incentives. May 2020.

Gig and Independent Work. A New Frontier for Economic Development. Ellen Harpel. IEDC Economic Development Journal. 18:3 (18-24). Summer 2019.

Advancing State Data Sharing for Better Economic and Workforce Development. Dr. Kenneth E. Poole and Dr. Ellen D. Harpel. State Data Sharing Initiative, 2018.

Redefining Economic Development Performance Indicators for a Field in Transition. Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness and Smart Incentives, 2017.

State Economic Development Performance Indicators White Paper. Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness and Smart Incentives, 2016.

“Cost-Benefit Analysis of Investment Incentives.” In Rethinking Investment Incentives: Trends and Policy Options. Ed. Ana Teresa Tavares-Lehmann, Perrine Toledano, Lise Johnson, and Lisa Sachs. Columbia University Press. 2016.

Managing Incentives for Transparency & Accountability: Administering incentive programs is not easy. Determining and reporting on results is harder. Here we break down each of the steps economic development organizations can take to collect and manage data, monitor and evaluate program activities, and report results.

 

• State Business Incentives Database
• State Economic Development Expenditures Database
• Good Jobs First Subsidy Tracker
• NCSL State Tax Incentive Evaluations Database
• The Pew Charitable Trusts Economic Development Tax Incentives
• State Data Sharing for Evidence-based Policymaking
• W.E. Upjohn Institute Panel Database on Incentives and Taxes
• Making Sense of Incentives: Taming Business Incentives to Promote Prosperity