In 2018, the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research launched a major research initiative into place-based strategies for local prosperity. Place-based strategies are nothing new. For decades, cities, regions, and states have sought to increase the number of jobs available to residents, expand their tax base, and promote amenities and…

The question of whether economic development programs can be evaluated seems simple, but the answer is not simple because of the nature of evaluation. Determining a program's effectiveness requires the evaluator to distinguish changes due to the program from changes due to nonprogram factors. The evaluator must focus on outcomes caused by the…

Inner-city business development is often proposed as a solution to inner-city poverty. However, research evidence suggests that creating new jobs in the inner city is unlikely by itself to increase significantly the employment or earnings of the inner-city poor. Public subsidies for inner-city business development may be justified by greater…