Over the last several years, a range of new legislation has directed increased funding to distressed neighborhoods and regions throughout the country. Between the 2017 Opportunity Zones legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act, there is new enthusiasm for channeling economic development funds toward low-income places in the United States, rather than simply to poor households. This shift reflects the influence of a growing body of evidence on how economic inequality has shifted the geography of jobs and opportunity.
Through O-Lab’s 2023 Convening on Regional Inequality and Place-Based Policy, co-sponsored by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, we will explore this shift in the research and policy landscape, with a focus on what we can learn from recent legislation and pilot programs in this field, and what kinds of new experimentation and evidence are still needed. Join us for a series of panels, research presentations, and discussions from practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and advocates.
The event agenda will be updated as additional presenters are confirmed