Chapter 380 Economic Development Agreements: Describing the Employment, Investment, and Multiplier Impacts in Texas Cities

Date

2013-12

Authors

Eaton, Ann L.

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Abstract

The purpose of this research is to describe the employment, investment, and multiplier impacts of Chapter 380 Economic Development agreements in Texas cities. The research will describe the type and amount of business subsidies and frequency of subsidy control use in the agreements. It is important to evaluate the impacts of Chapter 380 Economic Development agreements in order to understand the economic benefits created by the Chapter 380 economic development policy. Evaluating the use of subsidy controls is significant for constituents to feel assured that public money is being used efficiently in economic development policy. The research used existing literature to create the following categories: employment impacts, investment impacts, multiplier impacts, and business subsidies and subsidy controls. A conceptual framework was created to form the operationalization tables. The research method utilized is content analysis to evaluate ten most recent, finalized Chapter 380 Economic Development agreements in five randomly selected Texas cities. The Chapter 380 Economic Development agreements were reviewed and coded according to the operationalization tables to describe the impacts. The findings revealed a dramatic distinction in the amount of grants disbursed versus the impacts received. The conclusion calls for cities to evaluate their practices when it pertains to the amount of subsidies offered in return for the economic impacts stipulated. The drastic distinction of impacts leads one to conclude that some cities may not be maximizing the financial partnerships between cities and businesses.

Description

An Applied Research Project Submitted to the Department of Political Science, Texas State University, in Partial Fulfillment for the Requirements for the Degree of Masters of Public Administration, Fall 2013.

Keywords

economic development, Chapter 380, economic development agreements, Public Administration

Citation

Eaton, A. L. (2013). Chapter 380 economic development agreements: Describing the employment, investment, and multiplier impacts in Texas cities. Masters of Public Administration, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.

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