Kara Jones

How does third-party reporting affect compliance with taxes it does not directly target? I study this question in local property taxation, where liability depends on self-reported property use that local governments struggle to verify. In Florida's short-term rental (STR) market, hosts who rent more than 30 days per year lose their owner-occupied exemption, creating a sharp notch in tax liability. I exploit Airbnb's Voluntary Collection Agreements as a shock to indirect third-party reporting: the agreements require the platform to remit sales and accommodation taxes but do not report rental days. Applying a bunching estimator to listing-level STR data from 2015--2024, I find negligible bunching at the threshold before the agreements and approximately 4,600 additional listings bunching after, with the most responsive hosts cutting bookings by more than 16 nights. Because hosts comply by curtailing activity rather than paying the commercial rate, the bunching implies roughly $13.8 million in forgone property tax revenue over the sample period. Thus, even indirect reporting generates meaningful compliance gains, and property tax rules curb STR activity.

As industrial policy drives new waves of foreign direct investment (FDI) into rural areas of the U.S., can FDI job growth increase rural incomes? Using synthetic control, difference-in-differences, and propensity score matching, I find that rural FDI consistently generates job growth but has no impact on income growth. Evidence from Kia Motors' $1.2 billion investment in Trusc County, Georgia, and a national panel of rural counties (1995–2019) shows that FDI raises employment by 13–16% locally and 3% nationally, but has no average effect on income. Gains occur where housing and labor markets are strong, suggesting policymakers must pair FDI with policies that improve housing supply, mobility, and absorptive capacity to see employment and income gains.

This paper explores how place-based policies reshape neighborhoods over time by focusing on gentrification and population movement following Empowerment Zone (EZ) designation. Using restricted Census data, I track changes in housing costs, income composition, and migration flows at the tract level. A difference-in-differences approach compares treated areas to similar untreated neighborhoods to estimate how these dynamics evolve after designation. I find that zone designation raises employment in the short run, but the gains fade and vary by designation round. Housing costs and residential stability remain flat overall, so previous residents are not displaced. In terms of tract composition, the population becomes younger, less educated, and less white over time. This evidence suggests the EZ program did not contribute to gentrification driven by housing costs or poverty reduction.

This paper examines whether growing up in a neighborhood targeted by the U.S. Empowerment Zone (EZ) program affects children’s later labor-market outcomes. Using confidential Census microdata, we will follow children who grew up in designated and comparable non-designated neighborhoods to assess whether the program’s effects extend beyond the adults and firms directly exposed to the policy. Building on our related work on the program’s short-run economic effects and long-run neighborhood change, this project evaluates whether place-based incentives create lasting improvements in economic opportunity across generations. Results are forthcoming.

This paper evaluates the short-run economic effects of the U.S. Empowerment Zone (EZ) and Enterprise Community (EC) programs on firms and workers in targeted areas. Using confidential Census microdata, we examine how designation influences business formation, closures, employment, and wages. Identification relies on a difference-in-differences framework with matched control tracts. We also distinguish between incumbent and newly entering firms and residents to assess who benefits from these policies. The analysis provides evidence on whether place-based incentives generate immediate improvements in local economic activity and labor market outcomes in distressed communities. Results are forthcoming.

Using retailer scanner data, we examine the impact of a six-month ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes in Washington state on tobacco product purchases. Utilizing a differences-in-differences research design, we find that aggregate e-cigarette sales within Washington decrease by nearly 43% during the ban period. Nevertheless, cross-jurisdictional shopping blunts the efficacy of the ban: e-cigarette sales occurring in Oregon and Idaho counties on the Washington border increase by nearly 48% and 17%, respectively. Moreover, cigarette sales in Washington increase by over 10% while the ban is in place. After the ban, cross-border shopping stops, and e-cigarette sales in Washington state quickly recover. The results indicate the need for an approach to tobacco control that accounts for inter-jurisdictional shopping behavior as well as substitution between types of tobacco products.