Subsidies Won't Stop Stagnation
Reason magazine|October 2023
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN is making a “big bet on place-based industrial policy,” writes Brookings Institution senior fellow Mark Muro
Ronald Bailey
Subsidies Won't Stop Stagnation

Muro and his colleagues argue that the initiative aims to address the fact that “many of the nation’s towns and regions struggle under the weight of economic stagnation and social decline.”

The size of the bet is around $80 billion in various industrial subsidies. It is unlikely to pay off as advertised.

These direct subsidies contrast with earlier federal place-based economic development programs, which chiefly used tax credits to encourage investment in poor urban neighborhoods and rural regions. Most research on those programs—which include New Markets Tax Credits (created by President Bill Clinton), Empowerment Zones (George W. Bush), and Opportunity Zones (Donald Trump)—indicates that they have had a negligible impact.

This story is from the October 2023 edition of Reason magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the October 2023 edition of Reason magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM REASON MAGAZINEView All
'Smoking Opium Is Not Our Vice'
Reason magazine

'Smoking Opium Is Not Our Vice'

America’s first drug war was driven by xenophobia against chinese migrants.

time-read
10+ mins  |
May 2024
THE LIBERTARIAN MIND OF DAVID BOAZ
Reason magazine

THE LIBERTARIAN MIND OF DAVID BOAZ

Threats to freedom, Trump vs. Biden, and the wins libertarians can’t seem to acknowledge

time-read
10+ mins  |
May 2024
DARE TO Fail
Reason magazine

DARE TO Fail

THERE’S NO SUCH thing as a universal millennial experience, but DARE comes close.

time-read
5 mins  |
May 2024
CULTURE WARRIOR IN CHIEF
Reason magazine

CULTURE WARRIOR IN CHIEF

THE MODERN PRESIDENCY IS A DIVIDER, NOT A UNITER. IT HAS BECOME FAR TOO POWERFUL TO BE ANYTHING ELSE.

time-read
10+ mins  |
May 2024
Progress, Rediscovered
Reason magazine

Progress, Rediscovered

A NEW MOVEMENT PROMOTING SCIENTIFIC, TECHNOLOGICAL, AND ECONOMIC SOLUTIONS TO HUMANITY’S PROBLEMS EMERGES.

time-read
10+ mins  |
May 2024
HOW CAPITALISM BEAT COMMUNISM IN VIETNAM
Reason magazine

HOW CAPITALISM BEAT COMMUNISM IN VIETNAM

IT ONLY TOOK A GENERATION TO GO FROM RATION CARDS TO EXPORTING ELECTRONICS.

time-read
10+ mins  |
May 2024
50 Years of D&D: You Can't Copyright Fun
Reason magazine

50 Years of D&D: You Can't Copyright Fun

THIS YEAR MARKS the 50th anniversary of the original edition of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), the granddaddy of tabletop role-playing games and one of the urtexts of nerd culture.

time-read
4 mins  |
May 2024
The Pupil Panopticon
Reason magazine

The Pupil Panopticon

BIG BROTHER—and Parent, and Teacher— are watching.

time-read
5 mins  |
May 2024
Congress Could Swipe Your Credit Reward Points
Reason magazine

Congress Could Swipe Your Credit Reward Points

A PLOT TO kill credit card reward points has bipartisan buy-in, with lawmakers framing the effort as an attempt to curb stillstubborn inflation.

time-read
2 mins  |
May 2024
Regulators Killed a Lifeline for Roombas
Reason magazine

Regulators Killed a Lifeline for Roombas

IN JANUARY 2024, Amazon terminated its agreement to acquire iRobot, the company that manufactures the Roomba robot vacuum.

time-read
2 mins  |
May 2024