EVALUATIONS OF STATE ENTERPRISE ZONE PROGRAMS: THE CASE OF MARYLAND

The purpose of this research is to evaluate whether the Enterprise Zone (EZ) program in Maryland has been an effective policy instrument for stimulating the distressed local economy in terms of job creation, capital investments and improving the economic well-being of residents in these EZs. First, this study evaluates the long-term impacts of the EZ programs on the economic well-being of EZ residents for the three oldest Maryland EZs for three decades. A counterfactual and causal inference analysis are applied to examine economic well-being of EZ residents by utilizing the propensity score matching and the regression discontinuity design methodologies based on a geographically normalized census database of 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2010. The study then examines the outcomes of EZ programs in job creation and capital investments across Maryland with the unique establishment level data collected by each local EZ administrator from 2006 to 2012. It explores EZs at the establishment level and analyzes what factor(s) differentiate outcomes of EZs.