Many governments aim to improve the labour market outcomes of people living in deprived areas through "place-making" initiatives. Economists are often sceptical about the effectiveness of such policies, but empirical evidence on their impacts remains limited. We examine the impact of building subsidised business floor space in deprived neighbourhoods in the UK. Our estimates suggest that while the £8.2bn investment into these projects increased the number of jobs located in the targeted neighbourhoods, it did little to improve the employment of local residents. © 2020

---

1 March 2021

---

Journal of Urban Economics 1222021

---

DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2020.103315

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094119020300863

This Journal article is published under the centre's Education programme, Urban programme.