20世纪七八十年代以来美国州和地方政府的经济发展激励措施

The Economic Development Incentives by the States and Local Governments of the U.S.since the 1970s and the 1980s

早在建国之初,美国政府的经济发展激励措施就已经出现。但从严格意义上讲,美国州和地方政府专门针对吸引外来企业的经济发展激励政策,始于1936年密西西比州的“工农业平衡发展项目”,并在30年代形成了发展的第一个高潮。20世纪七八十年代以来,美国州和地方政府经济发展激励措施的数量显著增加,数额巨大的“超级交易”频频出现,形成了第二个高潮。激励措施之所以在这一时期明显升级,大的时代背景是美国经济的低迷以及州和地方政府的角色发生重大转变,同时州和地方政府官员的政治考量,加之选址公司的推波助澜,形成了激励措施不断升级的合力。不容忽视的是,企业空间流动性增强和选址因素发生的变化也是激励措施升级的重要因素。长期以来,美国州和地方政府的经济发展激励措施一直饱受争议,认为其存在有违公平原则、影响公共服务质量、只是一场零和博弈等问题。这些问题都在一定程度上客观存在,但其严重程度不宜被过度夸大,应给予经济激励措施公允的评价。

In the early period of the founding of the nation,the U.S.government had implemented economic development incentives.However,it was not until 1936 when the Balance Agriculture with Industry Program was initiated in Mississippi that the specific economic development policies targeting at nonlocal companies were initiated at the level of states and local governments.In the 1930s,this formed the first peak of those developments.Since the 1970s,the number of economic development incentives provided by states and local governments has significantly increased,and‘megadeals’have become frequent,signifying the second peak.The escalation of these incentives during this period was influenced by the economic stagnation in the U.S.and a significant shift in the roles of states and local governments.Additionally,political considerations by the government officials and activities of site selection companies contributed to the continuous changes in location factors have also played a vital role in the advancement of these incentives.Over time,the economic development incentives offered by states and local governments of the U.S.have faced controversies,with the arguments suggesting that they violated principles of fairness,impacted the quality of the public services,and resembled a zero-sum game.Although such criticisms are objective to a certain extent,their severity should not be exaggerated and a fair evaluation of economic incentives is warranted.