Speaker:Prof. William Hoyt (University of Kentucky, USA)
Host:Assistant Prof. Lan Lan (Li Anmin Institute of Economic Research, Liaoning University)
Guest Speaker:Prof. Yu You (Li Anmin Institute of Economic Research, Liaoning University)
Time: 10:00 – 11:30 (Beijing Time), Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Venue:Room 483, Economics Faculty Building, Puhe Campus, Liaoning University
Online Access:Tencent Meeting ID: 730-281-8924
Language:English
Abstract:Local policies result in benefit-spillovers and interjurisdictional fiscal externalities that are not internalized by the government enacting the policy. This paper quantifies these spillovers through a new metric—the “marginal corrective transfer” (MCT) — the intergovernmental grant necessary to induce a locality to internalize all interjurisdictional externalities. The MCT is comparable across policies and places, and thus explicitly ranks policies on the extent of the inefficiencies from decentralization. An empirical guide to practice is provided to estimate the MCT. Empirically, we show local human capital policies should be subsidized while race-to-the-bottom policies should be taxed. Transfers are higher in more decentralized states.
Speaker Profile:
Prof. William Hoyt holds the Bryan Chair in Public Finance at the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration, University of Kentucky, USA. He is also a Research Fellow at the CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute) in Munich, Germany. He has previously served as the Director of the School of Economics at the Gatton College of Business and Economics and as the Director of the Martin School of Public Policy. He has been a long-time member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Urban Economics and served as a Co-Editor of the Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis.
Prof. Hoyt primarily conducts research in public economics and urban economics, making pioneering contributions to the fields of tax competition, local government behavior, housing markets, and the welfare analysis of tax policies. His work has been published in top international journals such as the American Economic Review, The Review of Economics and Statistics, The Economic Journal, Journal of Economic Literature, Journal of Public Economics, and Journal of Urban Economics. He has led numerous research projects funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), state governments, and various federal agencies. He was also invited to serve as a key economic advisor to the Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform in Kentucky in 2012.
