Transparency and Accountable Development
Good Jobs First is a national clearinghouse for research and information on accountable development. We offer tools and resources for activists, researchers, legislators, journalists, and anyone seeking to unearth information on development deals and to push for more accountable development practices.
To learn more, please explore this section of our website, which includes the following:
- Beginners Guide: New to the issues? Go here for an introduction to economic development, subsidies, and accountability.
- Researcher’s Guide: An activist’s guide to understanding the lingo and processes of economic development and researching development deals in your area (learn about Tax increment financing (TIF), Property tax abatements, Enterprise zones (EZs), Corporate income tax credits, Industrial revenue bonds (IRBs), Sales tax exemptions and reductions, Opportunity Zones, Film subsidies, Data centers and more)
- Key Reforms (Disclosure, Clawbacks, etc.): A guide to 10 legislative reforms and organizing strategies that can and have made subsidies more accountable.
- Model Legislation: Good Jobs First’s template bill for subsidy reform, as well as links to laws on the books in several states.
- Great American Jobs Scam: Greg LeRoy’s book covering a wide range of economic development and subsidy abuses.
- Glossary: An alphabetical guide to key economic development terms.
- Dirt Diggers Digest Guide to Strategic Corporate Research: This manual is designed to help researchers and activists gather essential information on any type of U.S.-based company as well as foreign companies operating in the United States.