But are there other substantial ways the OZ program has impacted residents beyond employment? Matthew Freedman, [economics professor], Shantanu Khanna [economics graduate student], and David Neumark [Distinguished Professor of economics], from University of California, Irvine, examine changes in poverty rates in addition to employment and earnings. In their first analysis, … they compare employment rates, earnings, and poverty rates in census tracts designated as Opportunity Zones to those eligible but not designated. … The authors find that the differences between designated and non-designated tracts almost entirely reflect trends before OZs were created, suggesting that the OZs have had no effect.

For the full story, please visit https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2021/03/15/opportunity-zones-have-had-minor-impact-on-labor-markets-so-far/.