- Phone:
- (812) 856-7559
- Email:
- justross@indiana.edu
- Website:
- https://sites.google.com/site/jross08/
- Room Number:
- 375E
- Areas of Interest:
- State and local public finance topics ,
- Property taxes ,
- Property assessment ,
- Local income taxes ,
- Zoning, local governance coordination, and tax amnesty programs
Education
- Ph.D., West Virginia University, 2008
- B.S., Wright State University, 2004
Courses
- Benefit Cost Analysis
- Public Management Economics
- Public Revenue Theory
Biography
Justin Ross is a public finance economist specializing in state and local tax policy. Ross joined O'Neill in 2008 and teaches public revenue theory, public managerial economics, and benefit-cost analysis. He is a two-time recipient of IU's Trustees Teaching award, in 2013 and 2009.
Ross's primary research interests include property tax-related issues such as assessment and zoning. His published works explore local governments' use and access to the property tax by examining how it affects the politics, fiscal capacity, land use regulation, and community decisions. Ross's articles have appeared in the top public finance, economics, and public administration journals including: National Tax Journal, Land Economics, Journal of Environmental Economics & Management, Public Finance Review, Public Budgeting & Finance, Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory, Contemporary Economic Policy, Public Finance & Management, and the Journal of Real Estate and Finance Economics.
His projects include the study of school district income taxes--a relatively new phenomenon in local public finance, as well as property reassessments and their impact on property tax revenue. Ross also explores the relationship that tax amnesty programs have with state and local tax administration, and their resulting behavior responses.
Highlights
- 2016 O'Neill Teaching Award for excellence in graduate instruction, Indiana University
- Trustees Teaching Award (2013 and 2009), Indiana University
- Distinguished Doctoral Student Fellowship, West Virginia University
- Jon Vilasuso Doctoral Student Publication Award, West Virginia University
In the News
- "Let off the hook" - The Journal Gazette, January 13, 2016
- "IU Report Cautions Hoosier Taxpayers, Officials" - Inside INdiana Business, October 2, 2014
- "Improving State Revenue Forecasting: Best Practices for a More Trusted and Reliable Revenue Estimate" - Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, August 8, 2014
- "Indiana University Students Offer Cost-Saving Advice to Rural Fire Districts," - IU Bloomington Newsroom, June 5, 2014
Selected Works
- "The public financing of America's largest cities: A study of city financial records in the wake of the Great Recession," (with C. Johnson, Y. Wenli), Journal of Regional Science, 55 (1): 113-138 (2015)
- "State revenue forecasts and political acceptance: The value of consensus forecasting in the budget process," (with J. L. Mikesell), Public Administration Review, 74 (2): 188-203 (2014)
- "Fiscal illusion from property reassessment? An empirical test of the residual view," (with W. Yan), National Tax Journal, 66 (1): 7-32 (2013)
- "Are community-nuisance fiscal zoning arrangements undermined by state property tax reforms? Evidence from nuclear power plants and school finance equalization,"Land Economics, 89 (3): 449-65 (2013)
- "Fast money? The contribution of state tax amnesties to public revenue systems," (with J. L. Mikesell), National Tax Journal, 65 (3): 529-62 (2012)
- "Interjurisdictional determinants of property assessment regressivity,"Land Economics, 88 (1) (2012)
- "Assessor incentives and property assessment,"Southern Economic Journal, 77 (3): 776-94 (2011)
- "Robustness and vulnerability of community irrigation systems: The case of the Taos valley acequias," (with M. E. Cox), Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 61 (3): 254-66 (2011)
- "Tiebout competition, yardstick competition, and tax instrument choice: Evidence from Ohio school districts," (with J.C. Hall), Public Finance Review, 38 (6): 710-37 (2010)