Dr. Abraham Song

Wilkes Scholar
D.C. Policy Center

Abraham Song is a Wilkes Scholar at the D.C. Policy Center. Dr. Song holds a Ph.D. from the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. His work was awarded the Provost’s Office Dissertation Fellowship and the Vernon E. Jordan Jr. Doctoral Fellowship. As a Wilkes Scholar, his work focuses on topics of economic development in the Washington metropolitan area; specifically, the emergence of ICT and biotech clusters, and Amazon’s arrival in the region.

About Wilkes Fellows & Scholars
The Wilkes Fellowship and Scholars program provides resources to young researchers in support of the D.C. Policy Center’s mission of producing objective, targeted, and high-quality data analyses to support robust and productive policy debate in the District of Columbia. The Wilkes Fellowship and Scholars program is endowed by gifts from The Wilkes Company and Quadrangle Development Corporation.

D.C. Policy Center contributors are independent writers, and we gladly encourage the expression of a variety of perspectives. The views of our contributors, published here or elsewhere, do not reflect the views of the D.C. Policy Center.

Written By Dr. Abraham Song

The District’s business incentives should target its comparative advantages

Introduction Over the last four decades, deindustrialization, automation, trade with China, the rise of the tech economy, and industry concentration have all contributed to the country’s regional divergence in economic prosperity. A 2019 Brookings report found that 90 percent of growth in high-tech jobs happened in just five metropolitan areas–Boston, San Francisco,…

September 15, 2021 | Abraham Song

The District’s tax incentive strategy is unique

The District’s strategy for targeting industries, and the dollar value of incentives offered, is unique when compared to the tax incentive strategies of neighboring Baltimore, Maryland and Virginia Beach, Virginia, as well as other large cities around the country. The District’s incentive-granting strategy relies primarily on local property tax abatements. Since D.C….

January 11, 2021 | Abraham Song