Designing Economic Development Incentives: The Case of Industrial Development Bonds in Chicago: 1977-1987

This article explores how the overall policy system affects the operation of economic development programs by presenting a case study of the City of Chicago's Industrial Development Bond (IDB) program between 1977-1987. By comparing Chicago IDB recipients with a representative group of Chicago manufacturers, this case study reveals that IDBs went to a self-selected group of manufacturers of larger size, that were already growing, but belonged to declining manufacturing sectors. Overall, despite bold promises, IDB recipients created few new jobs. Copyright 1991 by The Policy Studies Organization.