Richard
King Mellon Professor of Finance: Dr. Inman
Dr.
Robert Inman has been designated the Richard King Mellon
Professor of Finance, effective July 1, 2003.
Dr.
Inman has been a member of the Wharton faculty since
1980. He joined the Penn faculty in 1971 as an assistant
professor of economics and public policy after having
earned his Ph.D., MEd. and A.B. at Harvard. He has
held several visiting professor appointments at Harvard
University, Stanford University, the University of
California at Berkeley, the University of London, and
the Australian National University. Dr. Inman also
has served as a research associate for the National
Bureau of Economic Research since 1981, and he is a
current member of Philadelphia Mayor John Street's
Council of Economic Advisors.
Dr.
Inman's teaching interests include public finance,
political economy, and urban fiscal policy. He currently
teaches two courses at the undergraduate and MBA levels: Urban
Fiscal Policy and Urban Financial Policy, respectively.
Recently published papers include "Transfers and Bailouts:
Enforcing Local Fiscal Discipline with Lessons from
U.S. Federalism," which was published by MIT Press
in a book entitled Enforcing the Hard Budget Constraint earlier
this year; and "Should Suburbs Help Their Central Cities?",
which was published in the Brookings-Wharton Papers
on Urban Affairs in 2002.
Dr.
Inman's current research projects focus on economic
federalism in the United States, Europe, Russia, and
South Africa, and efficient and equitable financing
of public services in urban economies.
The
Richard King Mellon Foundation's support of Wharton's
faculty through the Richard King Mellon Professorship
dates back to a 1965 endowment from Pittsburgh financier
and philanthropist Richard K. Mellon. The fund
was established to support a professorship in finance.