The Political Economy of Local Government Enterprise Zone Designation

This study utilizes Cox proportional hazards modeling to examine the political and economic factors influencing local government enterprise zone designation in Illinois. Extending congressional dominance model literature to state legislatures, the findings support the importance of state legislators in driving policy benefits to their districts. Counties represented by a bill sponsor were 6.67 times more likely to receive an enterprise zone designation compared to a county not represented by a bill sponsor. However, the enterprise zones were designated in counties with a higher-than-average unemployment rate suggesting those counties in economic need were more likely to receive the intended benefit. Each unit difference in a higher unemployment rate compared to the state average means a county would be two times more likely to receive an enterprise zone designation.