The North Dakota Legislature approved a bill to look at the economic incentives offered new and expanding businesses – to see what works and what needs to be changed.
"I think this is a really great step for North Dakota," said Josh Goodman, a senior researcher with the Pew Economic Incentives Project. "This will result in better information on the results of economic development incentives."
The incentives most often take the form of tax breaks or financing packages. Goodman says the study will look at what works, what doesn't, and what can be changed or tweaked.
"One key question across programs that states are looking at is, 'Are the incentives effective in changing business behavior?'" said Goodman. "The whole point of an incentive is to encourage the company to do something it would not otherwise have done -- create jobs, make an investment, raise wages, different things that are beneficial for the state's economy. So what the evaluations will do is dig into that question."
Goodman says other states are also looking at their incentive packages.
