Robert P. Inman

Robert P. Inman
  • Richard King Mellon Professor Emeritus of Finance
  • Professor Emeritus of Business Economics & Public Policy

Contact Information

  • office Address:

    2433 Steinberg-Dietrich Hall
    3620 Locust Walk
    Philadelphia, PA 19104

Research Interests: political economy, public finance, urban fiscal policy

Links: CV

Overview

Education

PhD, Harvard University, 1971; MEd, Harvard University, 1967; AB, Harvard University, 1964

Recent Consulting

Tax policy, City of Philadelphia, 1988-98; Municipal finance, Chemical Bank, 1989-90; Citicorp, 1980; Regulation of public enterprise, UPS, 1986-87; Federal tax policy, U.S. Treasury, 1985; Pension Policy, California, 1994; National Academy of Sciences panel Member, “Demographic and Economic Imparts of Immigration,” 1995-97; Fiscal policy, republic of South Africa, 1994-2000; World Bank, 1994-present; National Academy of Sciences panel member, “Estimating Eligibility and Participation for the WIC Program,” 2001-2003; Member, Mayor’s Council of Economic Advisors, Philadelphia, 2002-present

Career and Recent Professional Awards; Teaching Awards

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Fellow, 1976; Fellow, Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences, 1992-93; Fulbright Florence Chair of Economics, European University Institute, Florence, Italy; Undergraduate Division Excellence in Teaching Award, 1992, 1994, 1998; Graduate Division Excellence in Teaching Award, 1997, 2000; The Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, 2000 (University of Pennsylvania); Helen Kardon Moss Anvil Award, 1978, 2001

Academic Positions Held

Wharton: 1980-present (Vice Dean and Director, Doctoral Programs, 2005-2009; named Richard King Mellon Professor of Finance, 2003). University of Pennsylvania: 1971-present. Visiting appointments: Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; Harvard University; Stanford University; University of California, Berkeley; University of London; Australian National University; European University Institute, Florence, Italy

Other Positions

Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research, 1981-present; Visiting Senior Research Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, 1980, 1982-1987, 1991-92, 1994, 1997, 2002

Professional Leadership 2005-2009

Associate Editor, Regional Science and Urban Economics, 1987-present; Executive Committee, International Seminar in Public Economics, 1990- present; Associate Editor, Public Finance Quarterly, 1980-present

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Research

  • Robert P. Inman and Daniel L. Rubinfield (Working), Understanding the Democratic Transition in South Africa.

  • Robert P. Inman (Working), Federalism’s Values and the Value of Federalism.

  • Steven Craig, Andrew Haughwout, Robert P. Inman, Thomas Luce (2004), Local Revenue Hills: Evidence from Four U.S. Cities, The Review of Economics and Statistics, 86(2): 570-585.

  • Robert P. Inman, Transfers and Bailouts: Enforcing Local Fiscal Discipline with Lessons from U.S. Federalism (2003)

  • Robert P. Inman (2002), Should Suburbs Help Their Central Cities?, Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs, 2002.

  • Andrew Haughwout and Robert P. Inman (2001), Fiscal Policies in Open Cities With Firms and Households, Regional Science and Urban Economcis, Vol. 31 (Issues 2-3), pp. 147-180. 10.1016/S0166-0462(00)00059-4

    Abstract: This paper provides an equilibrium numerical model of an open city economy with mobile firms and resident workers. Given household preferences and firm technologies and an exogenous configuration of city tax rates and national grants and fiscal mandates, the model calculates equilibrium values for aggregate city economic activity, factor prices, and finally, local tax bases, revenues, and public goods provision. The model is calibrated to the Philadelphia economy for Fiscal Year 1998. We then explore the economic and fiscal consequences of raising city tax rates and the city’s ability to finance rising local welfare payments. We find the city to be incapable of bearing significant increases in local responsibility for welfare transfers.

  • Robert P. Inman (1999), Changing the Price of Pork: The Impact of Local Cost Sharing on Legislators’ Demands for Distributive Public Goods, Journal of Public Economics, (February 1999). 10.1016/S0047-2727(98)00071-1

    Abstract: The provision of public services through national legislatures gives legislators the chance to fund locally beneficial public projects using a shared national tax base. Nationally financed and provided local (congestible) public goods will be purchased at a subsidized price below marginal cost and may be inefficiently too large as a consequence. An important assumption behind this inefficiency is that national legislators in fact demand more of the locally beneficial project as the local price for projects declines. This paper provides the first direct test of this important assumption using legislators' project choices following the passage of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (WRDA'86). We find legislators' chosen water project sizes do fall as the local cost share rises, with a price elasticity of demand ranging from ?0.81 for flood control and shoreline protection projects to ?2.55 for large navigation projects. The requirement of WRDA'86 that local taxpayers contribute a greater share to the funding of local water projects reduced overall proposed project spending in our sample by 35% and the federal outlay for proposed project spending by 48%.

  • Robert P. Inman (1997), Rethinking Federalism, Journal of Economic Perspectives, (Fall 1997).

Teaching

Current Courses (Spring 2024)

  • FNCE8120 - Fnce Econ Law Of Fiscal Crises

    The focus will be on the causes of fiscal crises, a careful detailing of who wins and who loses, and then on how such crises might be resolved and, perhaps most importantly, how they might be prevented in the future. The course will draw upon the fiscal experiences of US local governments (New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Orange County, Puerto Rico), utilities (WPPSS) and states (Illinois), and the international experience from such countries as Greece, Brazil, and Argentina. The cost of such crises for citizens, pensioners, and bond holders can be significant. We seek to understand the underlying economic, political, and legal/regulatory causes of such events so that they may be prevented in the future. The importance of private information and public regulation for disciplining the fiscal performance of democratically elected governments will be a central concern. We believe strongly that diagnosing and treating the "disease" of fiscal mismanagement is an interdisciplinary endeavor drawing on finance, economics, political science, and the law. Students with backgrounds in any of these disciplines are welcome.

    FNCE8120401 ( Syllabus )

  • LAW6090 - Fnce Econ Law Fiscal Cr

    The focus will be on the causes of fiscal crises, a careful detailing of who wins and who loses, and then on how such crises might be resolved and, perhaps most importantly, how they might be prevented in the future. The course will draw upon the fiscal experiences of US local governments (New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Orange County, Puerto Rico), utilities (WPPSS) and states (Illinois), and the international experience from such countries as Greece, Brazil, and Argentina. The cost of such crises for citizens, pensioners, and bond holders can be significant. We seek to understand the underlying economic, political, and legal/regulatory causes of such events so that they may be prevented in the future. The importance of private information and public regulation for disciplining the fiscal performance of democratically elected governments will be a central concern. We believe strongly that diagnosing and treating the "disease" of fiscal mismanagement is an interdisciplinary endeavor drawing on finance, economics, political science, and the law. Students with backgrounds in any of these disciplines are welcome.

    LAW6090401

All Courses

  • BEPP2300 - Urban Fiscal Policy

    This course will examine the provision of public services for firms and people through cities. Why cities exist, when fiscal policy fails, investments in infrastructure, realities of local governments such as inequality, crime, corruption, high cost of living, congestion, and unfunded pensions and debt, will be covered. We will pay special attention to recent topics, such as partnerships with the private sector, enterprise zones, the role of technology, environmental challenges, and real estate policies that promote housing affordability, such as rent control and inclusionary zoning.

  • BEPP2990 - Independent Study

  • BEPP4010 - Public Policy Analysis

    BEPP 4010 fulfills the Wharton capstone requirement by giving students an opportunity to apply their skills to assess a vital public policy question at the local, state, national, or global level. The policy topics the students can choose from will vary from year to year in order to ensure that they are topical and relevant. The course will also provide students with background on relevant conceptual/methodological topics for assessing policy, including experimental and quasi-experimental approaches, frameworks for policy analysis, behavioral economics, and data science (as appropriate for a given topic). Students will work in groups to produce a capstone report which provides a policy analysis for their chosen topic, along with policy recommendations. Not Offered Every Year

  • BEPP7730 - Urban Fiscal Policy

    This course will examine the provision of public services for firms and people through cities. Why cities exist, when fiscal policy fails, investments in infrastructure, realities of local governments such as inequality, crime, corruption, high cost of living, congestion, and unfunded pensions and debt, will be covered. We will pay special attention to recent topics, such as partnerships with the private sector, enterprise zones, the role of technology, environmental challenges, and real estate policies that promote housing affordability, such as rent control and inclusionary zoning.

  • CPLN9990 - Independent Study

    Independent Study supervised by a faculty member.

  • FNCE2300 - Urban Fiscal Policy

    This course will examine the provision of public services for firms and people through cities. Why cities exist, when fiscal policy fails, investments in infrastructure, realities of local governments such as inequality, crime, corruption, high cost of living, congestion, and unfunded pensions and debt, will be covered. We will pay special attention to recent topics, such as partnerships with the private sector, enterprise zones, the role of technology, environmental challenges, and real estate policies that promote housing affordability, such as rent control and inclusionary zoning.

  • FNCE7300 - Urban Fiscal Policy

    This course will examine the provision of public services for firms and people through cities. Why cities exist, when fiscal policy fails, investments in infrastructure, realities of local governments such as inequality, crime, corruption, high cost of living, congestion, and unfunded pensions and debt, will be covered. We will pay special attention to recent topics, such as partnerships with the private sector, enterprise zones, the role of technology, environmental challenges, and real estate policies that promote housing affordability, such as rent control and inclusionary zoning.

  • FNCE8120 - Fnce Econ Law of Fiscal Crises

    The focus will be on the causes of fiscal crises, a careful detailing of who wins and who loses, and then on how such crises might be resolved and, perhaps most importantly, how they might be prevented in the future. The course will draw upon the fiscal experiences of US local governments (New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Orange County, Puerto Rico), utilities (WPPSS) and states (Illinois), and the international experience from such countries as Greece, Brazil, and Argentina. The cost of such crises for citizens, pensioners, and bond holders can be significant. We seek to understand the underlying economic, political, and legal/regulatory causes of such events so that they may be prevented in the future. The importance of private information and public regulation for disciplining the fiscal performance of democratically elected governments will be a central concern. We believe strongly that diagnosing and treating the "disease" of fiscal mismanagement is an interdisciplinary endeavor drawing on finance, economics, political science, and the law. Students with backgrounds in any of these disciplines are welcome.

  • FNCE8990 - Independent Study

    Independent Study Projects require extensive independent work and a considerable amount of writing. ISP in Finance are intended to give students the opportunity to study a particular topic in Finance in greater depth than is covered in the curriculum. The application for ISP's should outline a plan of study that requires at least as much work as a typical course in the Finance Department that meets twice a week. Applications for FNCE 8990 ISP's will not be accepted after the THIRD WEEK OF THE SEMESTER. ISP's must be supervised by a Standing Faculty member of the Finance Department.

  • LAW6090 - Fnce Econ Law Fiscal Cr

    The focus will be on the causes of fiscal crises, a careful detailing of who wins and who loses, and then on how such crises might be resolved and, perhaps most importantly, how they might be prevented in the future. The course will draw upon the fiscal experiences of US local governments (New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Orange County, Puerto Rico), utilities (WPPSS) and states (Illinois), and the international experience from such countries as Greece, Brazil, and Argentina. The cost of such crises for citizens, pensioners, and bond holders can be significant. We seek to understand the underlying economic, political, and legal/regulatory causes of such events so that they may be prevented in the future. The importance of private information and public regulation for disciplining the fiscal performance of democratically elected governments will be a central concern. We believe strongly that diagnosing and treating the "disease" of fiscal mismanagement is an interdisciplinary endeavor drawing on finance, economics, political science, and the law. Students with backgrounds in any of these disciplines are welcome.

  • REAL2300 - Urban Fiscal Policy

    This course will examine the provision of public services for firms and people through cities. Why cities exist, when fiscal policy fails, investments in infrastructure, realities of local governments such as inequality, crime, corruption, high cost of living, congestion, and unfunded pensions and debt, will be covered. We will pay special attention to recent topics, such as partnerships with the private sector, enterprise zones, the role of technology, environmental challenges, and real estate policies that promote housing affordability, such as rent control and inclusionary zoning.

  • REAL7300 - Urban Fiscal Policy

    This course will examine the provision of public services for firms and people through cities. Why cities exist, when fiscal policy fails, investments in infrastructure, realities of local governments such as inequality, crime, corruption, high cost of living, congestion, and unfunded pensions and debt, will be covered. We will pay special attention to recent topics, such as partnerships with the private sector, enterprise zones, the role of technology, environmental challenges, and real estate policies that promote housing affordability, such as rent control and inclusionary zoning.

  • REAL8990 - Independent Study

    All independent studies must be arranged and approved by a Real Estate Department faculty member.

Activity

Latest Research

Robert P. Inman and Daniel L. Rubinfield (Working), Understanding the Democratic Transition in South Africa.
All Research

In the News

Bigger Than Potholes: Why Fixing America’s Infrastructure Should Be a Priority

Infrastructure projects are expensive, divisive and downright complicated -- but they're also critical to the health of the U.S. economy, says Wharton’s Robert Inman.Read More

Knowledge at Wharton - 6/22/2018
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Wharton Magazine

Data: Self-Driving Cars, Infrastructure, and More

The latest research, data, and insights from the pages of Knowledge@Wharton

Wharton Magazine - 10/12/2017

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Statue of liberty wearing a surgical mask. Concept of Coronavirus, COVID-19, isolation, protection and quarantineWhen It Comes to Public Policy, What Have We Learned from Managing Covid-19?

For their capstone project for BEPP 401: Managing the Pandemic: Money and Messages, Robert Inman, Richard K. Mellon Professor of Finance, Business Economics, and Public Policy Emeritus, challenged 20 Wharton undergraduate seniors to study public policy responses for the management of the coronavirus pandemic — researching what worked, what didn’t,…

Wharton Stories - 07/16/2021
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