William Duncombe

 Professor of Public Administration
Associate Director, Education Finance and Accountability Program (EFAP)

Research Interests

Professor Duncombe received his Ph.D. in Public Administration from Syracuse University in 1989. He is currently Associate Professor of Public Administration, Associate Director of the Education Finance and Accountability Program, and Senior Research Associate at the Center for Policy Research. He has published one book and over 30 papers and book chapters with a primary emphasis on public finance issues, and in particular public expenditure research. His current research is focused on three areas:

Education Finance
Public Finance and Economic Development
Elder Migration and Preferences

Education Finance

Education cost indices and development of school aid formulas (with John Yinger). The objective of this research is to develop education cost models that reflect the key factors affecting the costs of education including factor prices, student and family composition, district scale, student performance and efficiency. Using the results of these models, comprehensive education cost indices are developed and compared to other types of education cost adjustment. The authors use the education cost indices to develop school aid programs tailored to achieve various equity objectives. Given the recent focus of many states on developing minimum performance standards for students, the authors show how to develop "performance foundation formulas" for distributing basic operating aid to school districts.

Special Report:

Policy Brief:

Papers:

  • Duncombe, William D. and John Yinger.  2000.  "Financing Higher Student Performance Standards: The Case of New York State," Economics of Education Review, October, pp. 363-386.
    A single copy of this article can be downloaded or printed for your personal research and study.(©2000 Elsevier) Reprinted with permission from Elsevier Science. Abstract

  • Duncombe, William D. and John Yinger.  1999.  "Performance Standards and Educational Cost Indexes: You Can't Have One Without the Other."    Chapter 8 in Helen F. Ladd, Rosemary Chalk, and Janet S. Hansen (eds.), Equity and Adequacy in Education Finance: Issues and Perspectives.  Washington, DC: National Academy Press, pp. 260-297.
    Reprinted with permission from Equity and Adequacy in Education Finance: Issues and Perspectives. (©1999 by the National Academy of Science). Courtesy of the National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.  Abstract

  • Blanchard, Lloyd A. and William D. Duncombe.  1999.  "Tax Policy and Public School Finance."  In W. Bartley Hildreth and James A. Richardson (eds.), Handbook on Taxation.  New York: Marcel Dekker.   Abstract

  • Johnston, Jocelyn M. and William D. Duncombe.  1999.   "Balancing Conflicting Policy Objectives: The Case of School Finance Reform," Public Administration Review, 58(2): 145-158.
    This article may be used for research purposes, and no further distribution of this material is permitted without permission from the publishers. (©1999 Public Administration Review)   Abstract

  • Duncombe, William D. and John Yinger.  1998.  "School Finance Reform: Aid Formulas and Equity Objectives,"  National Tax Journal, L1(2): 239-262.
    For reprint requests see http://ww.ntanet.org.   Abstract

  • Duncombe, William D. and John Yinger.  1997.  "Why Is It So Hard to Help Central Schools?"  Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 16(1)(Winter): 85-113. Abstract

  • Duncombe, William D., John Ruggiero, and John Yinger.   1996.  "Alternative Approaches to Measuring the Cost of Education."   Chapter 10 in Helen F. Ladd, (ed.), Holding Schools Accountable: Performance-Based Reform in Education. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution, pp. 327-356.
    (©1996 The Brookings Institution. Reprinted with permission.) Abstract  

Economies of size in education(with John Yinger). The focus of this area of research is on examining the impacts of school and district enrollment size on the cost of providing a given quality of education.  School consolidation represents one of the largest changes in school governance in the United States in the last century, but the research examining the efficacy of this governance reform remains relatively thin.  Using education cost functions, the authors examine economies of size in education, and specifically examine the cost savings from school district consolidation in New York State.

Papers:

School district efficiency and effectiveness of education reform programs  (with Robert Bifulco, Jerry Miner, John Ruggiero, and John Yinger).     The emphasis of this research is on examining measures of school district efficiency, and evaluating the effectiveness of major school reforms.   The authors have evaluated different methods for estimating the cost efficiency and technical efficiency of school districts, and whether these measures are accurate enough for use in school accountability programs.  One of the most popular school reforms during the last decade are "comprehensive school reforms" that attempt curricular, management, and organizational reforms for whole schools, particularly targeting low-performing schools.   The authors are part of a funded evaluation of several of these reforms in New York City.

Papers:

  • Bifulco, Robert and William D. Duncombe.  "Evaluating School Performance: Are We Ready for Prime-Time?"   In William J. Fowler, (ed.), Developments in School Finance, 1999-2000.  Washington, DC.: National Center for Education Statistics, forthcoming.

  • Ammar, Salwa, Robert Bifulco, William D. Duncombe, and Ronald Wright.  2000.  "Identifying Low-Performance in Public Schools," Studies in Educational Evaluation, 26: 259-287. Abstract 

  • Duncombe, William D., Jerry Miner, and John Ruggiero.  1997.  "Empirical Evaluation of Bureaucratic Models of Inefficiency,"  Public Choice, 93: 1-18.
    (©1997 Kluwer Academic Publishers).  Abstract  (Reprinted with kind permission from Kluwer Academic Publishers.)

  • Ruggiero, John, William D. Duncombe, and Jerry Miner. 1995.  "On the Measurement and Causes of Technical Inefficiency in Local Public Services: With an Application to Public Education," Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 5(4):403-428.
    (©1995 Transaction Periodicals Consortium).  Abstract

Funded Research:

Co-Principal Investigator, “Do Whole-School Reform Programs Boost Student Performance?   The Case of New York City,” Smith Richardson Foundation ($248,957), 2000-2001.

Public Finance and Economic Development

Measuring financial management performance   (with Salwa Ammar, Bernard Jump and Ronald Wright).  The objective of this research is to develop a methodology for comparing the capital and financial performance of sub-national governments.  Using data from the Government Performance Project, financial management performance in the late 1990s of a sample of large cities in the United States has been evaluated.  In developing overall measures of capital and financial management, we have employed a new methodology, fuzzy rule-based systems (FRBS), that can handle the complexity of management systems, and offers a number of advantages over traditional evaluation methodologies.   

Symposium Papers:

Economic development and fiscal policy (with Roy Bahl, Bernard Jump, and Wilson Wong).  This research has examined the link between state and local fiscal policy and economic growth and development.  We explore the use of regional economic models for estimating the economic development impacts of public policy changes.  Duncombe was also part of a funded project that looked at the impact of major investment in the sewage treatment system in Onondaga County, NY on the fiscal and economic position of the county.  A general analysis of the link between fiscal policy and economic growth for the state of New York was published in a book and journal article. 

Papers:

  • Duncombe, William D. and Wilson Wong. 1998.  "Building State and Local Government Analytic Capacity: Using Regional Economic Models for Economic Analysis of Public Policy," State and Local Government Review, 30 (Fall): 165-180.

  • Duncombe, William D., Shannon Felt, James R. Follain, and Bernard Jump, Jr.   1997.  "The Economic and Fiscal Impact of Lake Remediation on Onondaga County," Metropolitan Studies Program Occasional Paper No. 186, Center for Policy Research, The Maxwell School.  Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University, August.

  • Duncombe, William and Bernard Jump, Jr.  1997.  "The Outlook for Onondaga County's Finances: Baseline Scenario," Metropolitan Studies Program Occasional Paper No. 185, Center for Policy Research, The Maxwell School. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University, August.

  • Duncombe, William D. and Wilson Wong. 1997.  "Onondaga County's Economic Performance Since 1980 and Prospects for the Next Decade,"  Metropolitan Studies Program Occasional Paper No. 183, Center for Policy Research, The Maxwell School. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University, February.

  • Duncombe, William D.  1996.  "Public Expenditure Research: What Have We Learned?" Public Budgeting & Finance, 16(2) (Summer): 26-58.

  • Bahl, Roy W. and William D. Duncombe. 1993. "State and Local Debt Burdens in the 1980s: A Study in Contrast," Public Administration Review , 53 (January/February): 31-49. 

  • Bahl, Roy W. and William D. Duncombe. 1992.  "Economic Change and Fiscal Planning: The Origins of the Fiscal Crisis in New York State," Public Administration Review, 52 (November/December): 547-558.

  • Bahl, Roy W. and William D. Duncombe. 1991.   Economic Growth and Fiscal Planning: New York in the 1990s.  Center for Urban Policy Research Press. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

Funded Research

Co-Principal Investigator, “Onondaga Lake Remediation: Economic and Fiscal Analysis,” Onondaga Lake Management Conference ($257,000), 1995-1997.

Determinants of Costs and Demand for Local Fire Protection  (with Jeff Brudney and John Yinger).  This research has modeled the supply and demand of local public services, focusing on fire protection.  Cost models and demand models for fire protection have been developed and estimated for fire departments in New York State.  On the supply side, estimates have been obtained for different dimensions of economies of scale, factor substitution, and the use of paid and volunteer firefighters.  On the demand side, elasticities have been estimated for income, tax price and aid.

Papers:

  • Brudney, Jeffrey and William D. Duncombe. 1995.  "The Optimal Mix of Volunteer and Paid Staff in Local Governments: With an Application to Municipal Fire Departments," Public Finance Quarterly, 23(3) (July): 356-384.

  • Duncombe, William D. and John Yinger. 1993.  "An Analysis of Returns to Scale in Public Production with an Application to Fire Protection," Journal of Public Economics, 52 (August): 49-72.

  • Brudney, Jeffrey and William D. Duncombe. 1992. "An Economic Evaluation of Paid, Volunteer, and Mixed Staffing Options for Public Services: With An Application to Municipal Fire Departments,"Public Administration Review, 52 (September/October): 474-481.

  • Duncombe, William D.  1992.  "Costs and Factor Substitution in the Provision of Local Fire Services," The Review of Economics and Statistics, LXXIV (February): 180-184.

  • Duncombe, William D. 1991."Demand for Local Public Services Revisited: The Case of Fire Protection," Public Finance Quarterly, 19 (October): 412-436.

Elder Migration and Preferences (with Mark Robbins, Jeff Stonecash and Doug Wolf).   The objective of overall research agenda is to examine the fiscal impact of senior citizens on state and local governments.  In the first part of this research program we have estimated using 1990 Census migration data the influence of tax and expenditure variables on the location decisions of senior citizens.  In addition, we have examined differences in preferences of elders and non-elders for local public education using survey research methods. 

Papers:

Funded Research:

Co-Principal Investigator, “Preferences of Senior Citizens for Public Education,” National Institutes on Aging ($75,500), 2000-2001.

Co-Principal Investigator, “Do Fiscal Factors Influence Elderly Migration Decisions,” National Institutes on Aging ($76,750), 1998-99.

 

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