In an effort intended to spur economic development in distressed and left-behind communities, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created more than 8,700 Opportunity Zones across the country and offered favorable capital gains tax treatment to investments in those zones. Although Opportunity Zones are still young, they are already stimulating rigorous research. To share, discuss, and critique that work, the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution is convening a virtual conference on Wednesday, February 24. (Start and end time to be determined.) Ed Glaeser of Harvard has agreed to give opening remarks.
We are looking for empirical papers and work in progress on any aspect of Opportunity Zones – including but not limited to the governors’ selection of zones; the flow of money to Opportunity Zones; the impact on real estate prices and employment. Papers will be circulated to participants in advance. Author presentations will be followed by a response from a discussant. Although discussion will be limited to invited participants, the conference will be live-streamed publicly.
Please submit a one-page proposal or a draft paper by November 23 to Haowen Chen (hnchen@brookings.edu).
https://www.brookings.edu/call-for-papers-opportunity-zones/
