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Abstract: 

This study seeks to extend the developing literature by exploring forces that may have motivated local governments in Maine to establish 72 TIF districts within a nine-year period, when the previous 11 years had produced only nine districts. The article begins by describing the provisions of TIF in Maine and the fiscal context within which a neglected economic development tool became a mainstay of local finance policy. Next, relevant research studies are reviewed, with particular attention directed to identifying variables that may be important predictors of adoption. Methodological limitations that may have produced inconsistent and ambiguous results are described. Then, the comparative classification power of individual and small sets of hypothesized determinants of TIF adoption is explored using discriminant analysis. The article concludes with discussion of findings and policy implications.

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Affiliations:  1: Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine.