The Andrew Young School's Fifth Annual Conference on Public Finance Issues in an International Perspective:
The Challenges in the Design of Fiscal Equalization and Intergovernmental Transfers

The conference "The Challenges in the Design of Fiscal Equalization and intergovernmental Transfers" will be held on October 3-5, 2004, in Stone Mountain, Georgia. The conference -sponsored by the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies- will bring together leading economics and tax experts from around the globe to discuss the issue of the intergovernmental transfer design.

Conference materials made available online include conference papers (indicated by ), presentation slides ( ), audio ( ) and audio presentation slides ( ). The audio slides (which consist of integrated slides and audio) are compressed and viewable with Internet Explorer or a Netscape browser from a 28.8 bps modem connection or higher. In order to be able to access all the conference papers below, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Slides and papers available only. Audio will be available shortly.

Presentation	Media	Section / Presentation Title / Presenter
		Session 1: The Nature of Equalization-Objectives and Consequences
Presentation 1		Fiscal Capacity Equalization and Economic Efficiency Jeffrey Petchey and Sofia Levtchenkova
Presentation 2		Ensuring Inter-Regional Equity and Poverty Reduction Bert Hofman and Susana Guerra
Presentation 3		The Impact of Equalization on Service Delivery Catherine Hull and Bob Searle
Presentation 4		Harmonizing Objectives and Outcomes at the National and Sub-National Levels through Citizen Engagement and Capacity Building Alex Brillantes
Discussant		David Peloquin
		Session 2: The Instututional Setting
Presentation 5		Grants Commissions and Other Institutional Arrangements Anwar Shah
Presentation 6		Intergovernmental Transfers: the Funding Rules and Mechanisms Paul Bernd Spahn
Presentation 7		Intergovernmental Transfers: The Vertical Dimension Roy Bahl and Sally Wallace
Discussant		Giorgio Brosio
		Session 3: Challenges in Implementing Equalization
Presentation 8		Expenditure-based Equalization Transfers Richard Bird and Francois Vaillancourt
Presentation 9		Designing Intergovernmental Equalization Transfers with Imperfect Data: Concepts, Practices, and Lessons Jorge Martinez-Vazquez and Jamie Boex
Presentation 10		A Model for Public Infrastructure Equalization in Transitional Countries Sofia Levtchenkova and Jeffrey Petchey
Discussant		Serdar Yilmaz
		Session 4: The Relationship of Equalization to Other Policies
Presentation 11		Revenue Sharing, Natural Resources, and Fiscal Equalization Bob Searle
Presentation 12		Fiscal Equalization, Tied Grants, and Minimum Expenditure Requirements Ehtisham Ahmad
Presentation 13		Intergovernmental Loans: Their Fit into a Transfers System Dana Weist
Discussant		Remy Prud'homme
		Session 5: The Bigger Picture
Presentation 14		The Political Economy of Equalization Transfers Stuti Khemani
Discussant		Musharraf Cyan
		Session 6: Closing Session
Presentation 15		Conference Closing Roy Bahl, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez and Bob Searle

For more information, please contact Mr. Paul Benson.