Jim Landers

Professional Practice Associate Professor, Enarson Chair, Director of Graduate/Professional Studies

Jim Landers teaches public budgeting and finance and has research interests in state and local taxation and state and local economic development programs and policy. He teaches graduate and undergraduate budgeting and finance courses.

Professor Landers received his PhD from the School of Public Policy and Management at The Ohio State University and has an MPA from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a BA from the University of Kentucky.

He recently retired as director of the Office of Fiscal and Management Analysis (OFMA) of the Indiana Legislative Services Agency where he led a team of fiscal analysts and economists who conduct fiscal and economic research and prepare fiscal impact statements on proposed legislation for the Indiana General Assembly. Prior to serving as the fiscal director he was senior fiscal analyst and his primary research areas included individual income tax, corporate income tax, gaming taxes, state lottery and economic development programs. He also assisted with Indiana’s state revenue forecast.

Prior to his work in Indiana, Professor Landers served as a researcher and legislative drafter for the Ohio Legislative Service Commission and as a research analyst for the Arkansas Bureau of Legislative Research.

His other professional activities have included adjunct teaching roles with the Glenn College most recently and for the School of Professional Studies at Northwestern University and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis. He is also a past president and executive committee member for the National Association of Legislative Fiscal Offices and has participated in staff and legislative training activities with the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Employing Synthetic Control Method to Examine Whether State Corporate Tax Rate Reductions Grow Manufacturing Employment

Economic Development Quarterly

January 28, 2025

This article examines how rate cuts and changes to the corporate apportionment formula affect manufacturing employment.

“And the Survey Says”: Written Surveys and Interviews Can Yield Important Information About Incentive Program Operations and Impacts

Pew Charitable Trusts Incentive Evaluators Network Newsletter—October 2023: Evaluation Perspectives

October 24, 2023

Jim Landers published commentary about state legislative program evaluation staffs and legislative fiscal and economic analysis staffs using survey and interview methods for evaluating the impact of state and local economic development incentive programs.

Best Practices for Planning Tax Incentive Evaluations: Lessons Learned from Indiana’s Evaluation Process

Pew Charitable Trusts

March 24, 2022

Jim Landers describes how to develop a tax incentive evaluation plan, the logistical concerns of the process, including how to maximize staff resources and expertise, time evaluations to leverage complementary work, and gather the information necessary to conduct evaluations.

Best Practices for States Planning Tax Incentive Evaluations

Pew Charitable Trusts

March 24, 2022

Jim Landers describes how to develop an evaluation plan. Specifically, he discusses the logistical concerns of the process, including how to maximize staff resources and expertise, time evaluations to leverage complementary work, and gather the information necessary to conduct evaluations.

Tax Increment Financing: A Propensity Score Approach

Economic Development Quarterly

November 01, 2017

This study, published in the Economic Development Quarterly, examines the effect of tax increment financing (TIF) on economic growth in Indiana.

The Responsiveness of Casino Revenue to the Casino Tax Rate

Public Budgeting & Finance

October 01, 2016

Associate Professor Jim Landers examines the tax base elasticity of the regulated casino industry in Illinois to help estimate state-level revenue impacts of casino tax rate changes.

The Tiff Over TIF: A Review of the Literature Examining the Effectiveness of the Tax Increment Financing

National Tax Journal

September 01, 2014

This article, published in the National Tax Journal, examines California's recent decision to discontinue tax increment financing (TIF) after six decades of use has triggered a re-examination of its broader use.

Why Are State Policy Makers Still Proponents of Enterprise Zones? What Explains Their Action in the Face of a Preponderance of the Research?

International Regional Science Review

November 26, 2009

This essay reviews the research on state EZ programs and explores why it has not had a greater influence on policy.

The Two-Sided Coin: Casino Gaming and Casino Tax Revenue in Indiana

Indiana Business Review

March 01, 2009

This article focuses on the thirteen years of operation of riverboat casinos in Indiana and the growth in the supply of casino games statewide and explains the state excise taxes imposed on the casino owners.

Future Casino Tax Yields: What Recent Trends in Casino Wagering and Attendance Suggest

Indiana Business Review

March 01, 2009

This article considers and investigates the future growth potential of the state's wagering taxes.

What’s the Potential Impact of Casino Tax Increases on Wagering Handle: Estimates of the Price Elasticity of Demand for Casino Gaming

Economics Bulletin

August 25, 2008

Associate Professor Jim Landers estimates the price elasticity of demand for casino gaming.

Gambling on an Alternative Revenue Source: The Impact of Riverboat Gambling on the Charitable Gambling Component of Nonprofit Finances

Nonprofit Management and Leadership

September 22, 2006

Associate Professor Jim Landers examines the impact of casino gambling in and around Illinois on charitable gambling in that state.

Why Don’t Enterprise Zones Work? Estimates of the Extent that EZ Benefits are Capitalized into Property Values

Regional Analysis & Policy

January 01, 2006

Associate Professor Jim Landers examines the impact of local Enterprise Zones (EZs) on commercial and industrial property values.

The Effect of Casino Gambling on Sales Tax Revenue in States Legalizing Casinos in the 1990s

State Tax Notes

December 26, 2005

Associate Professor Jim Landers looks at whether casino gambling competes with other consumer spending and therefore decreases sales tax revenue.

In the Zone: A Look at Indiana’s Enterprise Zones

Indiana Business Review

June 01, 2005

Associate Professor Jim Landers provides an overview of Indiana Enterprise Zones and explore their business characteristics and demographics.

Business Income Taxes in Indiana: Who Pays?

Indiana Business Review

September 01, 2004

Associate Professor Jim Landers analyzes business income taxes including corporate income tax systems and business income taxed through the individual income tax system.

Contact

614-292-2158

landers.1@osu.edu

Office

210B Page Hall

Expertise

State and Local Taxation; Revenue Forecasting; State and Local Economic Development Incentive Programs

Curriculum Vitae