Over the last three years, a range of new legislation has directed state and federal investment to distressed neighborhoods and regions throughout the country. Between the 2017 Opportunity Zones legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act, there is new enthusiasm for directing economic development funds to low-income places in the United States, rather than simply poor households. This shift reflects the influence of a growing body of evidence on the degree to which economic inequality has shifted the geography of jobs and opportunity.
Through O-Lab’s 2023 Convening on Regional Inequality and Place-Based Policy, cosponsored by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, we will explore this shift in the research and policy landscape, with a particular focus on what we can learn from recent legislation and pilot programs in this field, and what kinds of new experimentation and evidence are still needed.
AGENDA & Event Recordings
Welcome Remarks: Danny Yagan
Keynote Address & Moderated Q&A: Representative Jim Clyburn, D-South Carolina
Remarks on the Implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act: Ronnie Chatterji, White House Coordinator for CHIPS Implementation, National Economic Council
Panel Discussion: Promoting Regional Development through Federal Investment: Lessons from Recent Legislation and Opportunities for Policy Experimentation (11:55am, PDT)
Mark Muro, Brookings Metro
Jonathan Gruber, MIT Department of Economics
Olugbenga Ajilore, US Dept. of Agriculture
Renee Bowen, UC San Diego Department of Economics
Liz Reynolds, MIT Department of Urban Studies & Planning
Danny Yagan, UC Berkeley Department of Economics
Research Presentation: Findings on the Impact of the Opportunity Zones Program (12:50pm, PDT)
Harrison Wheeler, NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy
Patrick Kennedy, National Bureau of Economic Research
Panel Discussion: How states and cities can supplement and implement federal place-based investments, and options for local and state innovation (1:00pm, PDT)
Ellen Harpel, Smart Incentives
Carlianne Patrick, Georgia State University Department of Economics
Scott Andes, Economic Development Administration, US Department of Commerce
Josh Goodman, The Pew Charitable Trusts
Tim Bartik (Introductory remarks, moderator), W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
Closing Remarks: Hilary Hoynes