Volume 27.1 Economic Development and Growth Strategies in the Southeast: Four Perspectives (2002)

Editors: Conaway Haskins, Amanda Huron, David Kiddoo,  and Rich Thorsten

A digital version of this issue is available here.

Greenfield Pioneers in the American Southeast: Empirical and Game-theoretic Perspectives for Planning

Eric Thompson, Stephan Weiler, and Terutomo Ozawa

Initial core “pioneers” in greenfield industrial districts tend to develop crucial supplier networks around them, leading an unusual set of private and public incentives. Highlighting findings from previous research, empirical evidence from the Kentucky Toyota plant suggests that a core plant will spark the formation of a sharable supply network, differentiated by criticalness of parts, distance from plant, and timing of establishment. However, these links may result in skewed private and public incentives, which are modeled in a game-theoretic framework. If left to market solutions, potentially significant intra- and inter-regional market failures may emerge, leading to potential justification for planning intervention.

The Fiscal Impact of Alternative Land Uses in Macon County

Jeremy L. Jones and Susan B. Kask

This paper uses the hedonic method to analyze the effect of land use change on local government property tax revenues and costs of property tax-supported services. A statistical model estimates the property value for alternative land uses which is used with the current property tax rate to estimate tax revenue for a typical parcel in each of three land use categories: residential, commercial, and agriculture/open-space. The per parcel average cost of tax supported services is calculated from county expenditures. Using these values a revenue to cost ratio is calculated for each land use and a scenario assuming the development of thirty acres of open space is discussed.

Land, Lines and Levies: A Study of Voluntary Annexations in High Point, NC

Suzanne Dowling, Jeffery Maxim, John Quinterno, and Najeema Davis Washington

The City of High Point used voluntary annexations to grow in area and population during the 1990s. Careful planning is needed to insure the effective provision of municipal services. Conducting modified cost-benefit analyses is one way to gauge the financial costs and revenues associated with potential annexations. This report describes the methodology underlying a computer application that can forecast the financial costs and benefits associated with proposed voluntary annexations. The results constitute a tool that High Point’s council and management can use to manage growth.

Virginia’s Economic Incentives: Missed Opportunities for Sustainable Growth

Linda K. Breggin

This article describes Virginia’s current business incentive programs and analyzes whether land use patterns and long-term development effects are considered when providing grant and loan awards. It finds that Virginia does not consider the impact of its economic incentive programs on land use patterns and sustainability. Furthermore, the information publicly available on these programs does not contain sufficient detail on the use of the funds to assess their effect on growth and land use patterns. The article recommends that Virginia consider land use impacts in administering current economic incentive programs by funding growth in locations that are designed to maximize benefits to the surrounding communities. Linda Breggin wrote a larger report, “Virginia Economic Incentives: Missed Opportunities for Sustainable Growth” on which this article is based, for the Environmental Law Institute in 2001.