Customer Reviews

Tax Increment Financing and Economic Development: Uses, Structures, and Impact (Suny Series in Public Administration)

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I found this to be the most comprehensive review of Tax Increment Financing that is currently published. It is generally written in a style that is approachable and understandable by a layman, while provide solid analysis for a practitioner.

As a resident in a southwestern Chicagoland suburb, without knowledge of economic development, I was just trying to get an understanding of how TIFs work and understanding the positives and possible pitfalls. TIF books are scarce, so this is one of the few resources available. The collaborative effort illustrates the high level expertise of all the authors, however, as most chapters are written by different authors, the first few introductory pages can be redundant. However, this helps hammer home the complicated principles of TIF.

As I read this book in 2012, the examples are outdated. What would be great is an updated version, perhaps including fresh examples. I am really interested in follow up of some of the examples in the book, especially the Urbana, IL TIF where the municipality utilized TIF to raze an entire blighted neighborhood and re-build a residential district from scratch.

For what's available, overall still an excellent resource that should be on the shelves of any policy maker /economic developer.