Kansas and Missouri are nearing a truce in an economic border war that has cost hundreds of millions of dollars and created barely any new jobs.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, has signed legislation that would prohibit companies from receiving tax incentives for jumping the state’s border within the Kansas City region. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, said on June 14 she was prepared to sign an executive order agreeing to the truce. The legislation takes effect only if both parties agree.

The neighboring states would agree to cease using one of the most popular tools in the economic-development toolbox: lucrative tax breaks in exchange for a promise of investment and jobs. Politicians regularly tout the number of new jobs created under such programs.

States and local governments spend approximately $45 billion annually on various economic subsidies for businesses, according to Timothy Bartik, an economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Concerns have mounted in recent years from some state legislators and economic development officials about the wisdom of competing for business using tax incentives. Some research has shown that economic incentives make little difference in where a company ultimately chooses to locate. Despite that, localities can end up engaging in bidding wars, pushing up the cost of new jobs.