Tax Sales, Private Capital, and Gentrification
Fiscally constrained local governments recover revenues from overdue tax bills by auctioning off homes in what is known as a tax lien or tax deed sales. Economist Cameron LaPoint will examine whether these tax sales contribute to gentrification and widen the racial wealth gap. He will utilize an original dataset which merges data on tax sales, tax payment history, and property transaction records in seven cities and two states over 15 years for his study.