Many elected officials and business groups throughout the South have touted the use of tax breaks and other government policies and subsidies to attract new manufacturing facilities as one of the best ways to address the region’s high poverty and unemployment problems. This report evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of that argument by examining dimensions of job quality in the southern states of Mississippi and Alabama.
A panel event held at Jackson State University, Southern Manufacturing’s Impact on Jobs and Community, examines this report as well as discuss ways we can move forward.