2003 Conference Program

CONCURRENT SESSIONS 10:45 AM-12:15 PM

TAX ENFORCEMENT: THEORY AND PRACTICE

GROWTH AND SIZE OF GOVERNMENT

TOBACCO TAXES

LESSONS LEARNED FROM A LIFE OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND POLICY ECONOMICS: IN HONOR OF ALBERT J. DAVIS

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13

9:00-10:30 AM		General Session -- Corporate Tax Evation *GOLD COAST ROOM*
	Organizers:	Mihir A. Desai, Harvard University; and Dhammika Dharmapala, University of Connecticut
	Presenters:	David Weisbach, Law School, University of Chicago—The Welfare Loss from Tax Shelters Joel Slemrod and Keith Crocker, Business School, University of Michigan—Corporate Tax Evasion with Agency Costs Mihir A. Desai, Harvard University; and Dhammika Dharmapala, University of Connecticut—The Determinants of Corporate Tax Sheltering Activity: The Role of Incentive Compensation
	Discussant:	Terrence Chorvat, George Mason University Austan Goolsbee, University of Chicago
10:30-10:45 AM		Coffee Break
10:45 AM-12:15 PM		Concurrent Sessions
	TAX ENFORCEMENT: THEORY AND PRACTICE (GEORGIAN ROOM)
	Organizer/Moderator:	Janet Holtzblatt, Office of Tax Analysis, U.S. Treasury Department
	Presenters:	Janet McCubbin, Office of Tax Analysis, U.S. Treasury Department—Optimal Tax Enforcement Michael Brostek and Thomas Short, U.S. General Accounting Office—Trends in Tax Enforcement Nina Olson, National. Taxpayer Advocate, IRS—EITC Compliance Initiatives: Past and Future Efforts
	Discussants:	Eric J. Toder, Research Division, IRS David Marzahl, Center for Economic Progress
	GROWTH AND SIZE OF GOVERNMENT (VENETIAN ROOM)
	Organizers:	Mark Skidmore, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
	Moderator:	TBA
	Presenters::	Sohrab Abizadeh, University of Winnipeg—Trade Liberalization and Size of Government Mark Skidmore, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater; David Merriman, Loyola University of Chicago; and Hideki Toya, Nagoya City University—Convergence in Government Spending: Theory and Cross-Country Evidence Ulrich Thiessen, German Institute for Economic Research—Fiscal Decentralization and Economic Growth in High Income OECD Countries
	Discussant:	Robert McNab, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey
	TOBACCO TAXES (WALTON ROOM)
	Organizer:	Lan Liang, University of Illinois at Chicago
	Moderator:	Iris J. Lav, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
	Presenters:	Lan Liang, University of Illinois at Chicago—Determinants of State Cigarette Tax Policy Alison Del Rossi, St. Lawrence University—Explaining Variations in States’ Choice of Cigarette Taxes Richard M. Peck, University of Illinois at Chicago—Average and Marginal Progressivity: The Case of Cigarette Excise Taxes
	Discussant:	Darren Lubotsky, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
	LESSONS LEARNED FROM A LIFE OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND POLICY ECONOMICS: IN HONOR OF ALBERT J. DAVIS (SUPERIOR ROOM)
	Moderator:	Robert J. Cline, Ernst & Young LLP
	Panel	Leonard E. Burman, The Urban Institute Jane G. Gravelle, Congressional Research Service G. Thomas Woodward, Congressional Budget Office
12:30-2:00 PM		Luncheon (GRAND BALLROOM) Presiding: Gary C. Cornia, President, National Tax Association Speaker: Robert J. Shiller, Yale University
2:15-3:45 PM		Concurrent Sessions
	PENSIONS, SAVINGS, AND RETIREMENT SECURITY (GEORGIAN ROOM)
	Organizer/Moderator:	Peter Brady, Office of Tax Analysis, U.S. Treasury Department
	Presenters:	Sarah Holden, Investment Company Institute; and Jack VanDerhei, Fox School of Business and Management, Temple University—Contribution Behavior of 401(k) Plan Participants during Bull and Bear Markets Maria Perozek and Morris Davis, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System—Mortality Risk and Portfolio Choice Karen M. Pence, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; and William G. Gale, The Brookings Institution—Effects of Saving Incentives on Wealth Accumulation: A Cohort Analysis Peter Brady, Office of Tax Analysis, U.S. Treasury Department; and Paul Smith, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System—Receipt of Capital Income and the Effect of Recent Savings Proposals
	Discussant:	Gene Amromin, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
	TAX CULTURE (SUPERIOR ROOM)
	Organizer/Moderator:	Birger Nerré, Institute of Public Finance, University of Hamburg
	Presenters:	Karsten von Blumenthal and Birger Nerré, Institute of Public Finance, University of Hamburg—Tax Culture and Austrian Economics - A Case Study of the Big 1896 Tax Reform Benno Torgler, University of Basel—Cross Culture Comparisons of Tax Morale and Tax Compliance: Evidence from Costa Rica and Switzerland Noel D. Johnson, Washington University, St. Louis-Banking on Bureaucrats: The Company of General Farms, Sovereign Debt, and the Coming of the Revolution in France Robert McNab, Naval Post-Graduate School; and Stephen S. Everhart, Overseas Private Investment Corporation—Aid, Corruption, and Investment
	Discussants:	Jon Davis, University of Wisconsin-Madison Matthew N. Murray, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Karsten von Blumenthal, University of Hamburg Thomas C. Omer, University of Illinois at Chicago
	COSTS OF COMPLIANCE (VENETIAN ROOM)
	Moderator:	Robert A. Weinberger, H&R Block
	Presenters:	Kim M. Bloomquist, U.S. Internal Revenue Service—Tax Evasion, Income Inequality and Opportunity Costs of Compliance Laura Kalambokidis, University of Minnesota; and Marsha Blumenthal, University of St. Thomas—The Compliance Costs of Maintaining Tax-Exempt Status Christian R. Jaramillo, Business School, University of Michigan—Optional Presumptive Income Taxation and Costly Compliance
	Discussant:	Janet McCubbin, Office of Tax Analysis, U.S. Treasury Department Scott Moody, The Tax Foundation
	RAINY-DAY FUNDS (WALTON ROOM)
	Organizer	Yilin Hou, University of Georgia
	Moderator:	Gary C.Cornia, Brigham Young University
	Panelists:	Yilin Hou, University of Georgia—Counter-Cyclical Reserves and State Own-Source Spending Kenneth A. Kriz, University of Nebraska Omaha; and Craig L. Johnson, SPEA, Indiana University—Could Governments Hedge Their Financial Risk? Gary A. Wagner, Duquesne University and Erick M. Elder, University of Arkansas at Little Rock—The Optimal Size of State Budget Stabilization Funds: A Buffer Stock Approach Richard Mattoon, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago—Can the Unemployment Insurance Compensation System Teach Us Anything About State Rainy Day Funds
	Discussant:	Kelly D. Edmiston, Andrew Young School of Public Policy, Georgia State University Paul A. Wilson, Minnesota House of Representatives

3:45-4:00 PM		Coffee Break
4:00 - 5:30 PM		General Session *GOLD COAST ROOM*
	IN HONOR OF MARTIN FELDSTEIN - 2003 DANIEL M. HOLLAND MEDAL RECIPIENT
	Moderator:	James M. Poterba, MIT
	Presenters:	Alan J. Auerbach, University of California Berkeley Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Boston University Joel Slemrod, University of Michigan
5:30 - 6:30 PM		ANNUAL MEETING OF THE NATIONAL TAX ASSOCIATION-TAX INSTITUTE OF AMERICA *GOLD COAST ROOM* Presentation of the Daniel M. Holland Medal to Martin Feldstein Presentation of the Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Awards Presentation of the Daniel M. Holland Medal Presentation of the Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Awards Presidential Address, Gary C. Cornia
6:30 - 7:30 PM		RECEPTION IN HONOR OF MARTIN FELDSTEIN FRENCH ROOM

TAX INCREMENT FINANCING (WALTON ROOM )