Financing Economic Development in the 21st Century

The field of economic development grew dramatically during the 1990s, from experimental attempts to attract employers to a sophisticated set of tools regularly used by state and local governments and local chambers of commerce. This completely new version of the classic Financing Economic Development defines the state of the art for the 21st century. With contributions by highly qualified professionals and scholars, the book offers a balanced and comprehensive survey of the major mechanisms for financing economic development today. It explores the details of all the standard developmental tools, such as Tax Incremental Finance districts, angel and venture capital, and tax abatements, as well as newer tools that have proven effective, including micro-enterprise lending, stadium financing, brownfield financing, and revolving loan funds. Tools for rural development finance are also covered, and, in addition to describing the various programs and providing examples of how they work, the book also evaluates their relative effectiveness against alternative techniques.