Metropolitan Studies Program
John Yinger, Associate Director for Metropolitan Studies Program
Metropolitan Studies Paper Series
Areas of Interest
- Domestic Urban and Regional Studies
- Regional Econometric Modeling
- Housing and Housing Finance
- Public Finance
- School Finance
- Environmental Finance
- Real Estate Taxation
- Child and Family Welfare
Domestic Urban and Regional Studies One of the Center's traditional fields of strength is the analysis of economic and social policy issues in cities, urban concentrations and regions. Among the topics of research have been state economic development, the location of foreign investment, housing finance, entrepreneurship and racial discrimination. A recently completed project provided nationwide estimates of racial and ethnic discrimination in the housing market. Support for these studies has come from the State of New York, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, the Russell Sage Foundation, and other sources.
Regional Econometric Modeling CPR has recently obtained its own version of the REMI model, which is one of the most widely used of its kind. The REMI model combines input-output methods and econometrics to produce a model capable of forecasting a regional economy and simulating a wide variety of policy changes that affect the taxation of businesses and households, the environment, and economic development. Our model includes Onondaga County, the rest of the Syracuse MSA, and the rest of the state. This particular model and our growing expertise in its application will allow us to better contribute to policy discussions of this type in New York State and elsewhere.
Faculty: William Duncombe.
Housing and Housing Finance
Several members of CPR are particularly active in the analysis of a wide range of issues related to housing markets. Recent topics include the analysis of public housing programs, econometric modeling of metropolitan housing markets, and forecasts of the market for owner-occupied housing. A closely related area is housing finance. This includes the demand for mortgages and various types of mortgage instruments, the pricing of mortgage-backed securities, econometric analysis of mortgage prepayment and default (Paper No. 177), the credit risk of multifamily mortgages (Paper No. 180), and the analysis of government sponsored housing finance enterprises. One recent study was sponsored by the Government Accounting Office to examine possible impacts of privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.; another was sponsored by HUD to help in the establishment of housing goals for these government sponsored enterprises (Paper Nos. 171, 172, and 173).Faculty: Jan Ondrich, Stuart Rosenthal, John Yinger.
Public Finance CPR continues its longstanding focus on the evaluation of city and state government fiscal management and performance. An early research project was among the first to identify New York City's coming fiscal crisis in the 1970s. More recent efforts have analyzed state tax structures and guided tax reforms. Other projects have addressed intergovernmental grants, municipal bond rating and credit analysis, measures of city fiscal conditions, property tax reform, and education finance. Funding for this research has come from the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Education, the KMPG Peat Marwick Foundation, state government agencies, and other sources.
School Finance
An emerging area of focus in CPR is
education finance and analysis of the provision of educational
services. The topics of research include fiscal condition of school
districts and measurement of educational costs; school district
consolidation and technical and cost efficiency; development of state
school aid formulas; and integration of educational and social
services. Funding from research has come from several New York State
sources, and faculty are pursuing a national focus for this research.
Faculty:
William
Duncombe,
Jerry
Miner, Ross Rubenstein,
John Yinger
Environmental Finance The Maxwell School has been designated an Environmental Finance Center (EFC) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Several faculty in CPR are involved in research focusing on state and local financing of environmental infrastructure. Topics include identifying and evaluating financing alternatives; assessing the economic and fiscal impact of mandates on local governments; and development of criteria for the distribution of state and federal funds to local governments. Recently, the EFC was awarded funding from the EPA and Onondaga Lake Management Conference for a detailed study of the economic and fiscal impacts of remediation of Onondaga Lake on Onondaga County.
Faculty: William Duncombe
Real Estate Taxation Real estate represents both a
substantial portion of the wealth of this country and an important
source of revenue for all levels of government. Several members of CPR
have longstanding interests in this area. Recent studies have focused
upon the impact of the 1986 Tax Reform Act on multifamily housing (Paper
No. 168) and the elimination of the mortgage interest deduction
(Paper
No. 179). Many within the group have a continuing interest in the
local real property tax. Sponsors of this work include the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Association
of Realtors, the National Association of Home Builders, and Fannie
Mae.
Faculty:
William
Duncombe,
Jerry
Miner,
John Yinger
Child and Family Welfare
Other Sites of Interest
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
