FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Anthony Flint
617-661-3016 x116
LINCOLN INSTITUTE CONFERENCE TO FOCUS ON DECENTRALIZATION
School funding, local services, environmental policies among the topics covered in “Land Policies and Fiscal Decentralization,” June 3-5, 2007 in Cambridge, Mass.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – In recent years, national and state or provincial governments in the United States and abroad have been “devolving” fiscal responsibilities to local governments, but the impacts of this policy are only just being understood. The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy will hold a conference entitled “Land Policies and Fiscal Decentralization” from June 3–5 to address these topics.
The second annual convening of the Land Policy Conference will cover the effects of decentralization on government responsiveness to local demand for public goods, local service financing, income distribution, local governance structures, inter-jurisdictional competition, and environmental protection.
Highlights of the conference include sessions on public school finance and quality under U.S. fiscal federalism, with an opening address by Robert Costrell of the University of Arkansas on equity and efficiency issues in state versus local public school finance, and the current state of school finance litigation. Daniel P. McMillen, visiting fellow at the Lincoln Institute, and Larry D. Singel of the University of Oregon will examine empirically how property tax limits in selected states affect the performance of public schools. Thomas Nechyba of Duke University will explore the potential roles of public and private school competition in mediating unequal access to quality education.
In addition to the analyses of U.S. public education, session presentations will cover decentralization experiences in other developed and developing countries. Roy Bahl of Georgia State University, one of the leading experts in public finance, will deliver a keynote address on both the theory and practices of fiscal decentralization in developing countries. Shelby Gerking of the University of Central Florida and Hilary Sigman of Rutgers University will examine the impacts of decentralization on environmental policymaking. The full agenda is available at http://www.lincolninst.edu/docs/419/670_Agenda May 17.pdf.
The proceedings of the 2006 Land Policy Conference have been compiled in a new book published by the Lincoln Institute, Land Policies and Their Outcomes, edited by Lincoln Institute President Gregory K. Ingram and Lincoln fellow Yu-Hung Hong. The volume includes essays by Edward L. Glaeser from Harvard University, Karl E. “Chip” Case from Wellesley College, Peter Hall from University College London and many others, on topics including land use regulation and housing prices, land value and property tax, and urban revitalization.
More information on the book covering last year’s conference is at http://www.lincolninst.edu/news/pressroom.asp, and http://www.lincolninst.edu/pubs/PubDetail.aspx?pubid=1230.
For review copies please contact Anthony Flint at anthony.flint@lincolninst.edu.
The Lincoln Institute, founded in 1974, does research and convenes scholars and practitioners on land planning and development issues both in the United States and abroad.
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