An Assessment of the Impact of the Rural Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community Program on Texas’ Rio Grande Valley

This study investigates the impact of the Rural Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community Program on the Texas Rio Grande Valley. In order to examine the program’s impact, human development indexes for pre-EZ designation (1990) and EZ implementation (2000) time periods were developed. The results revealed minimal increases in human development index values in the EZ program counties. In fact, these counties remained in the lowest 20 percent of all counties in these state. It is suggested that this lackluster performance could be attributed to several institutional factors. Introduction In 1993, the U.S. Congress passed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, which launched the Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community (EZ/EC) program (GAO, 1997 and 1998). The goal of this ten-year program was to provide an impetus for growth and revitalization in urban and rural communities based on the principles of creating economic opportunities; sustainable community development; community-based partnerships; and strategic visions for change. EZ/EC designation was based on particular criteria, which pertained to characteristics such as geographic size, poverty level, and the preparation of a strategic plan for executing the above-mentioned principles. Recipients of EZ and EC designations each received $40 and $3 million, respectively. In addition to these resources, which were funded through from Social Services Block Grants, businesses located or wishing to locate into these zones and communities were eligible to receive tax incentives.