This page hosts the resources from the 2021 Roundtable on Evaluating Economic Development Tax Incentives, held Nov. 15-17, 2021, in Washington, D.C. The meeting was designed to discuss state activity around economic development evaluations. The roundtable process allowed attendees to share evaluation tips and strategies garnered from evaluators nationwide. Thank you to all the attendees and faculty for helping make this meeting a success.
The 2021 Roundtable on Evaluating Economic Development Tax Incentives was made possible through the generous support of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021
Welcome/Year in Review
- Mandy Rafool, National Conference of State Legislatures
- Khara Boender, The Pew Charitable Trusts
Year in Review PPT
Session 1: Policymaker Perspectives on Tax Incentive Evaluations
- Moderator: Emily Maher, National Conference of State Legislatures
- Maine Representative Maureen "Mo" Terry, House Chair, Joint Standing Committee on Taxation (virtual)
- Kansas Representative Kristey Williams, Chair, Legislative Post Audit Committee (virtual)
Session 2: Working Through Evolving Evaluation Processes
- Khara Boender, The Pew Charitable Trusts
Evolving Evaluation Processes
- Anthony Circo, Nebraska Legislative Audit Offce
Lessons Learned: Nebraska's Process After Six Years
- Sally Avery, Tennessee Department of Community and Economic Development
State of Tennessee: Business Tax Credit
Session 3: Methodology Session: Conducting Cost-Benefit/Break-Even Analysis
- Moderator: Shane Benz, The Pew Charitable Trusts
- Randy Bauer, PFM Consulting Inc.
Conducting Breakeven Analysis
Session 4: Overcoming Setbacks
- Moderator: Laura Wheeler, Public Finance Research Cluster, Georgia State University
- Andy Brienze, Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit
- Michelle Colin, Colorado Office of the State Auditor
- Stacey Knavel, Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office
Session 5: Discussion Workshop: What Do Evaluators Wish Lawmakers and Stakeholders Knew?
- Introduction: Alison Wakefield, The Pew Charitable Trusts
Mind the Gap Discussion
Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021
Session 6: Why Evaluate Who Benefits? Where Should Evaluators Start?
- Moderator: John Hamman, The Pew Charitable Trusts
Who Evaluates? Who Benefits? Where to Start?
- Alena Stern (virtual) and Steven Brown, The Urban Institute Racial Equity Analytics Lab
Ethics and Empathy in Using Imputation to Disaggregate Data for Racial Equity
The Urban Institute, Spatial Equity Data Tool
- Patrick Carter, Minnesota Management and Budget
Minnesota Results First Demographics of Evidence Base
Session 7: Ongoing Efforts to Evaluate Who Benefits; Building a Framework for Analysis
- Moderator: Jim Landers, Ohio State University's John Glenn College of Public Affairs
- Keenan Konopaski, Eric Thomas, Washington Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (virtual)
Implementation of Racal Equity Analyses at WA State Joint Legislative Audit Commission
- Erik Beecroft, Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee
Who Benefits? Virginia Case Study
- Charlotte Otabor, District of Columbia Office of the Chief Financial Officer
Evaluating Tax Expenditures. Who Benefits?: A Descriptive Analysis Using the Earned Income Tax Credit
Closing