Esteban Dalehite PhD in Public Affairs Assistant Professor Public Administration           Office:  PCA 352A   Phone:  348-0430   Email: dalehite@fiu.edu   Education:  Ph.D., Indiana University Bloomington (majors in public finance and management) MPA, The University of Texas at Austin Licenciatura en Derecho (JD equivalent), Escuela Libre de Derecho, Mexico City   Background: Prior to undertaking his Ph.D., professor Dalehite served in Mexico’s federal government, specifically in the Tax Administration and Tax Policy Design units. There he was in charge of issuing tax rulings that were binding nation-wide, and participated in the writing and passage of the revenue side of the annual federal budget. Before that, Professor Dalehite served as analyst in Mexico City’s Assembly and the Federal Congress, assisting in the passage of Mexico City’s annual budgets and important urban initiatives.   Courses:  PAD 6227 Public Finance and the Budgetary Process URS 6155 Quantitative Methods for Policy and Management   Research:  Esteban’s research focuses primarily on state and local finance. During the 2002-2003 period, he participated in a nation-wide, cross-state analysis of property tax abatement programs in the US, financed by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and conducted jointly with professors John L. Mikesell and C. Kurt Zorn. The results of this research are summarized in a forthcoming publication in Economic Development Quarterly, and form part of a data base that is being further explored. Professor Dalehite’s most recent research is contained in his doctoral dissertation, financed by a grant from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. The focus of the dissertation is on the effectiveness of property tax abatements at inducing investment and increasing the personal property tax base. In addition, the dissertation links economic development and K-12 school finance policies by analyzing the contribution of property tax abatements to wealth disparity across school districts, in a pre-post, natural experiment framework. Esteban’s research plans for the near future include the joint analysis of the effectiveness of property tax abatements, enterprise zones and tax increment finance districts, and exploring such topics as the effect of “snow bird” migration on the property tax base in Florida, property tax reform in Mexico, and the influence of court rulings on tax policy in Mexico.   Interests: In his spare time, Professor Dalehite enjoys keeping up with friends and family, experimental cooking, traveling, singing in local choirs, and diverse outdoor activities, particularly hiking and aquatic sports. Esteban has a passion for history, politics, and the study of religion, but over the years has learned to avoid discussions on the latter two. Although against animal violence, he is still able to admire the bravado of an occasional bull fight.   Quote:  “My dear Agathon, Socrates replied as he took his seat beside him, I only wish that wisdom were the kind of thing one could share by sitting next to someone—if it flowed, for instance, from the one that was full to the one that was empty, like the water in two cups finding its level through a piece of worsted. If that were how it worked, I’m sure I’d congratulate myself on sitting next to you, for you’d soon have me brimming over with the most exquisite kind of wisdom. My own understanding is a shadowy thing at best, as equivocal as a dream, but yours, Agathon, glitters and dilates.” —Plato, Symposium   Website: Esteban Dalehite