The diffusion of TIF districts among local governments

A substantial body of research finds local governments use financial incentives to promote economic development despite mixed evidence of the incentives' effectiveness. Using Missouri county data from 2004 to 2013, the ensuing analysis assesses the extent to which diffusion processes help explain this conundrum. While concurring with previous research that it is difficult to empirically sort out the impacts of different diffusion mechanisms, this analysis finds that economic competition affects local governments' adoption of TIF in conjunction with county-level characteristics. The article concludes by discussing the implications of these findings in regard to TIF effectiveness.