Faculty Today: On the Go
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

James Alm traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico, in May to begin work on an evaluation of Puerto Rico’s tax policy as part of a Center for the New Economy/Brookings Institution joint project on economic policy in the commonwealth. In July, he chaired a session on China’s economic policy at the Chinese Economic Society Annual Conference in Atlanta. He was in Washington, D.C., in August to chair a meeting of the Academic Advisory Council that will help to provide oversight on a joint cost of collection study run by the Multistate Tax Commission and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

The Atlanta Outreach Consortium has entered a partnership agreement with Atlanta Public Schools to support the 21st Century Community Learning Centers curriculum and program development. A cadre of undergraduate students from AOC institutions will provide service as teaching assistants while faculty will offer ongoing evaluation of the program’s best-practices methods.

University of Toronto Professor Richard Bird, the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Economics at AYSPS, spent two months this fall in the International Studies Program, where he collaborated with faculty and graduate students and presented the lecture, “Getting it Right: Financing Urban Development in China.”

Karlease Bradford, formerly with the Neighborhood Collaborative and now the business manager for Domestic Programs, was recently elected to serve a two-year term on Georgia State University’s Staff Council. She joins AYSPS representatives Sue Fagan and Charlotte Petrek, who was also elected Staff Council Parliamentarian. Sally Fowler and Petrek also have been elected to serve as University Staff Senators for two years.

Douglas Campbell (right), who finished his Ph.D. in the Department of Economics at AYSPS last year, joined the faculty this fall as a visiting assistant professor.

In June, Alan Essig left the Fiscal Research Center to accept the position of executive director at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, a newly created nonprofit that will focus on social issues. During his time with the FRC, Essig developed a strong reputation on budget issues. His valuable contribution to the FRC will be missed.

The International Studies Program introduced a macroeconomic policy course in the fifth successful year of its Fiscal Policy Summer Training Courses, expanding its offering to four courses. Designed for government officials and policy makers from developing and transition countries and for their peers in international donor agencies, these courses are led by a panel of distinguished faculty and leading fiscal policy experts with worldwide experience. The program is directed by Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, ISP director.

Marian Garcia-Valinas, assistant professor in the Department of Economics at the Universidad de Oviedo in Asturias, Spain, was a visiting scholar from May to July. She obtained her Ph.D. in Economics from Oviedo in January 2003, graduating summa cum laude. Her research interests are efficiency in the public sector, local government debt and environmental economics.

Congratulations go to Felix Rioja, who has been promoted to associate professor with tenure.

Dorie Taylor, assistant director of Domestic Programs, graduated with distinction with a B.A. in Sociology from Georgia State University this summer and was awarded the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Scholarship Key. She was also a winner in Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities. She began Georgia State University’s Ph.D. program in sociology in the fall. AYSPS congratulates a wonderful staff member on her academic success!

The Department of Economics completed another successful summer internship program under the supervision of Professor Neven Valev. Nine students from top universities around the country worked with AYSPS faculty on various research projects.

Congratulations also go to Yongsheng Xu (right), who has been promoted to full professor.