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Jennifer Ellen French
Public Relations Manager
Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
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ATLANTA — Georgia State University’s International Center for Public Policy (ICePP) recently brought together leading policy experts from around the world to examine current and emerging challenges in fiscal decentralization around the globe.
Jorge Martinez-Vazquez
The center’s 17th Public Finance Conference in Atlanta also celebrated the contributions of economist and Regents’ Professor Emeritus Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, the founding director of ICePP and former director of the Public Finance Research Cluster (PFRC), whose pioneering work has shaped fiscal decentralization theory and practice in more than 90 countries. ICePP and the PRFC are housed in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.
The Public Finance Conference series, which Martinez-Vazquez founded in 2001, plays a key role in advancing the university’s commitment to research and innovation.
“Our conferences have been important for advancing influential policy work on global governance,” said Paul Benson, senior director of the PFRC. “They’ve fostered an environment where new ideas and practical solutions can meet. They’re also valuable for our students, who see firsthand how academic work connects with policy outside the classroom.”
This year’s conference featured research by 32 experts from universities and institutions including the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank, illustrating ICePP’s broader aim to drive meaningful change through cross-disciplinary collaboration.
“This conference has been a unique opportunity to connect with global experts and learn about the practical difficulties of fiscal decentralization,” Ph.D. candidate Federico Corredor said. "Discussing these issues firsthand with a number of leading scholars has deepened my understanding of how economic theory applies in real-world governance.”
Nadia Farooq, an international economist who works with the Public Finance Research Cluster as a visiting scholar, shared a similar perspective.
“I’ve appreciated ICePP’s conferences as extremely valuable for seeing the big picture in public finance and global policy by connecting different perspectives from across disciplines and borders,” she said.
A special focus of the conference centered on the indelible mark Martinez-Vazquez has left on global public finance policy and the university. His extensive body of work, including more than 20 books and 300 refereed articles that have generated nearly 20,000 citations — as well as the $20 million USAID Fiscal Reform Project in Russia in the 1990s and other programs — has garnered significant international visibility and prestige. He has mentored countless students and chaired 55 Ph.D. dissertations, exemplifying Georgia State’s dedication to fostering student success and cultivating academic leadership.
The research presented at the conference will be refined and published as an edited volume or special journal edition, used to further the Public Finance Research Cluster’s mission of improving public-sector governance worldwide. To find the list of conference participants, go here. The conference papers will be added to ICePP’s Working Paper series before final publication.
Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, second row center in navy jacket, with AYSPS alumni and faculty, former faculty and esteemed public finance colleagues from around the world