In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the state of Louisiana has taken steps to make asset building a priority. The Louisiana Department of Social Services has embraced the concept of asset building, and is implementing programs that offer opportunities for asset building to low- and moderate-income residents.

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The competition among the states to recruit new, or retain existing, companies has never been more intense. Policymakers offer billions in tax and other incentives every year, yet most economists and policy analysts agree that these inducements waste public dollars and subsidize private companies for actions they are likely to have taken anyway.

State and local officials often cite competitive pressures that force them into offering incentives that they know may be wasteful.  Fear of "losing" an employer drives elected officials and professional economic development staff to offer generous packages to companies that are moving, expanding, or simply say that they might be.  These incentives take public tax dollars and other resources and give them to private companies, often with little to no accountability.  While the pressure on public officials is real, much can be done to avoid the worst abuses of business incentives.

CFED seeks to provide local, state, and federal policymakers and advocates with the best research on incentive design, reform, administration, and evaluation ideas; federal, state, and local reform options and alternatives; and case studies of unaccountable incentive uses.

This work is led by Bill Schweke.

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