Pré-publication, Document de travail: This paper provides quasi-experimental (RDD) estimates of the impact of a tax credit program targeted at less densely populated areas. The program was launched in the mid 1990s in rural France and includes corporate and payroll tax exemptions. Variations over time and across rm types allow un-bundling the overall program impact into three components: a quite restrictive, short-term (1-year) payroll tax exemption on new hires; permanent payroll tax exemptions in the non-pro t sector; and corporate tax exemptions for new rms. We nd no signi cant impact of the program on total employment or the number of plants, and no impact of the di erent program components on targeted subsets of rms. Large positive e ects can be statistically rejected.