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Using tract-level US Census data and triple-difference estimators, the authors test whether firms increase their use of part-time workers when faced with capped wage subsidies. By limiting the maximum subsidy per worker, such subsidies create incentives for firms to increase the share of their payroll that is eligible for the subsidy by increasing use of part-time or low-wage workers. Results suggest that firms located in federal Empowerment Zones in the United States responded to the program's capped wage subsidies by expanding their use of part-time workers, particularly in locations where the subsidy cap is likely to bind. Results also show a shift toward hiring lower-skill workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article empirically tests the geographic and economic spillover effects of foreign trade zones (FTZs) in the United States by utilizing propensity score matching and the geographic rules of the programme. While these FTZ sites are designed to support manufacturing, we find that ZIP codes that receive FTZ sites experience growth in new and existing non-manufacturing establishments. Our results also show that FTZs spillover into nearby ZIP codes. We find that ZIP codes that border FTZ ZIP codes also experience positive effects on non-manufacturing establishments and these spillovers are strongest within a 5-mile radius of an FTZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We examine how location-based tax incentives affect quality of life and business environment through changes in property values and equilibrium wages. Using the federal Empowerment Zone program, we determine whether offering tax incentives to firms improves the welfare of the citizens and attractiveness to firms. We demonstrate that quality of life methodologies can be applied using small geographically aggregated data, such as census block groups. We find that the tax incentives offered by the program notably enhances the quality of business environment for firms in the area while modestly improving the quality of life for the individuals living in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The elderly are the population most likely to file for bankruptcy, with filings increasing by 150 percent from 1991 to 2007. This is likely because they live with relatively flat incomes and high medical expenses, and their retirement and housing assets are typically exempt from bankruptcy filings. In addition, nine states adopted higher asset exemptions specifically for the elderly. Using the Health and Retirement Study and recent state-by-time variation in homestead exemptions, we are the first to test whether the benefits of partial wealth insurance or the cost of supply-side credit constraints are predominant for the elderly. Using pooled cross-sectional analysis, we find that an increase in a state's homestead exemption increases the elderly's home equity and business ownership; however, the credit constraint is dominant in unlimited-exemption states, which decreases home and business ownership. Panel analysis reveals that an increase in the homestead exemption positively affects home ownership rates and home equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]