Joseph J. Cordes, Professor of Economics 

Joseph Cordes joined the Department of Economics in 1975 and became Professor of Economics in 1985. He received the M.S. and Ph.D. in Economics from The University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1977. From 1989 to 1991, Professor Cordes served as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Programs in the Columbian School of Arts and Sciences, and as Chair of the Department of Economics from 1991 to 1997. He currently serves as the Director of the Ph.D. Program in  Public Policy, and Advisor in the Policy Analysis and Research Track of the Master of Public Policy Program . Professor Cordes has also held appointments while on leave from the University as a Brookings Economic Policy Fellow in the Office of Tax Analysis, U.S. Department of the Treasury (1980-81), Financial Economist, U.S. Department of the Treasury (1984), Deputy Assistant Director for Tax Analysis, Congressional Budget Office, 1989-991, and Visiting Fellow, The Urban Institute (1998-1999). Prof. Cordes has co-edited two books, and has authored or co-authored over fifty articles and chapters in books on taxation and tax policy, economic evaluation of public expenditure programs, regulatory policy, technology policy, and the economics the nonprofit sector. A significant part of his current research focuses on the economic behavior of nonprofit organizations, and evaluating public programs intended to reduce economic risks from flood and storm damage. 

Courses Taught 
    Economics 161: Public Goods and Expenditure Analysis (Undergraduate) 
    Economics 162: Taxation and Tax Policy (Undergraduate) 
    Economics 198: Senior Pro seminar in Economics 
    Economics 263: Public Goods and Expenditure Analysis (Graduate) 
    Economics 264: Taxation and Tax Policy (Graduate) 
    Economics 221/Public Policy 204/: Economics Applied to Public Policy 
    Economics 222: Applied Welfare Economics and Benefit Cost Analysis 
    Public Policy 295: Doctoral Dissertation Workshop 

Selected Recent Publications

Books

  • Encyclopedia of Taxation and Tax Policy, (co-editor with Robert Ebel and Jane Gravelle), Urban Institute Press, 1999.
  • Democracy, Social Values and Public Policy (co-editor with Milton Carrow and Paul Churchill), Greenwood-Praeger, 1998.
Articles
  • "The Tangled Web of Taxing Talk: Telecommunication Taxes in the New Millennium," National Tax Journal, Sept. 2000 (in press).
  • "To the Water's Edge, and Beyond: Effects of Shore Protection Projects on Beachfront Real Estate," Journal of Real Estate Economics and Finance (with A. Yezer and D. Gatzlaff), (in press).
  • "Washington D.C. Human Service Providers in an Era of Donor Choice," (with J. Henig and E. Twombly), Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, June 1999.
  • "School Choice in California: Who Chooses Private Schools?" (with R. Buddin and S. Kirby), Journal of Urban Economics, Vol 44, 1998, pp. 110-134.
  • "Differential Taxation of the Nonprofit Sector and the Commercialization of Nonprofit Revenues," (with Burton A. Weisbrod), Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Winter 1998.
  • "Reconciling Normative and Positive Theories of Government, American Economic Review, May 1998.
  • "In Harm's Way: Effects of Coastal Shore Protection Projects on Induced Economic Development," (with A. Yezer), Land Economics, March 1998.
Chapters in Books
  • "Business Franchise and Insurance Taxes in the DC Tax System," (with H. Watson) in Taxing Fairly and Simply, District of Columbia Tax Revision Commission, 1998.
  • "The Theory and Practice of Tax Incidence Analysis," (with H. Watson), in Fred Thompson, ed., Handbook of Public Finance, Marcel Dekker, 1997.
  • "Eliciting Voluntary Contributions for the Public Good Through State Income Tax Checkoff Programs," (with C. Williams), in Astrid Merget, et. al., eds., Nonprofit Organizations as Public Actors, Jossey-Bass Publishing, 1996.
  • "Thinking About School Vouchers: Theory, Evidence and Rhetoric," (with S. Kirby and R. Buddin) in J.M. Pogodzinski, ed., Readings in Public Policy, Basil Blackwell, 1995.

Contact information

Department of Economics 
George Washington University 
2201 G Street, NW 
Washington, DC 20052 		 Office: 5th Floor Funger Hall, Public Policy 
Phone: (202) 994-5826, Fax: (202) 994-6147 
Hours: By appointment 
Email: cordes@gwu.edu

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Joseph Cordes' Department home page / comments to econ@www.gwu.edu / modified September 9, 1999.
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