In an effort 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 low-incomes communities. 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 Brookings convened a virtual conference on Wednesday, February 24. Ed Glaeser of Harvard gave opening remarks, followed by a presentation from Kenan Fikri of the Economic Innovation Group. There were then four sessions, organized by topic, each containing several paper presentations and discussant responses.