David F. Merriman
David F. Merriman
Senior Scholar, IGPA; Chair: Fiscal Health of Illinois Working Group
James J. Stukel Presidential Professor
College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs
University of Illinois Chicago
David F. Merriman is the leader of IGPA's Fiscal Health of Illinois Working Group and is the James J. Stukel Presidential Professor of Public Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His major area of study is state and local public finance. Professor Merriman directs The Fiscal Futures Project, which created and maintains of a comprehensive and consistently defined measure of the Illinois state budget. He has published extensively about the effect of tax increment finance policy on local economic growth and the determinants of tobacco tax avoidance. He has also studied Walmart’s impact on urban economic development. His most recent research concerns state and local business taxation.
Associated IGPA Projects
Former Experience
Professor Merriman was a visiting scholar at the New England Public Policy Center, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, from August 2014-July 2015. He has also been a Senior Research Associate at Urban Institute, and a Consultant to the World Bank on intermittent assignments with Human Development Network. Professor Merriman was a Visiting Researcher at the Institute of Economic Research at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, Japan. Before joining UIC, Professor Merriman spent 20 years on the faculty at Loyola University of Chicago.
Professional Appointments
Visiting Fellow, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Member, Technical Advisory Board, Illinois Tax Foundation
Associate Editor, Economic Development Quarterly
Editorial Board, Journal of Urban Affairs
Editorial Board, Public Finance Review
Education
PhD, MS: University of Wisconsin at Madison, 1983, 1980
Undergraduate: America University, 1976
IGPA Research By David F. Merriman
April 19, 2022 The Earth isn’t Flat, and Neither is Illinois’— or any other state’s — Income Tax
July 27, 2021Illinois’ Medicaid Program is Expensive, but Spending Will Be Tough to Cut
July 27, 2021Illinois’ Medicaid Program is Expensive, but Spending Will Be Tough to Cut
April 22, 2021Illinois' Fiscal Challenges
November 5, 2020How often do graduated and flat rate states change their tax rates?
October 29, 2020The COVID-19 pandemic and small business in Illinois: A preliminary comparison of neighboring states
May 27, 2020Economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: State perspectives
April 30, 2020Illinois Higher Education Enrollments During Recessions
April 9, 2020What Policymakers Should Know About the Fiscal Impact of COVID-19 on Illinois
May 7, 2019Revenue Implications of Alternative Personal Income Tax Structures in Illinois
February 21, 2019A pension "crisis" mentality won't help
January 31, 2019Improving tax increment financing (TIF) for economic development
April 2, 2018The use of business property tax incentives in Cook County, Illinois
March 1, 2018No Magic Bullet: Constructing a Roadmap for Illinois Fiscal Sustainability
February 2, 2017Tools to assess budgetary concerns (Kiwanis presentation)
November 30, 2016First you stop digging: Projections of Illinois' fiscal imbalance and paths to remedy it
November 30, 2016Budget Enforcement Mechanisms
February 15, 2016Consequences of Inaction
December 7, 2015Improving budgetary practices in Illinois
February 20, 2014Peering over Illinois' fiscal cliff
February 20, 2014The Illinois Report 2014
February 18, 2014Overview of the economic and fiscal situation in Illinois
February 18, 2014Business taxes
February 3, 2014What happened to Illinois' economy following the January 2011 tax increases?
January 30, 2014Illinois still has serious fiscal problems after December 2013 pension law changes
October 19, 2013Temporary taxes
March 14, 2013Testimony Before the Illinois Senate Appropriations II Committee
March 13, 2013Testimony Before the Illinois House State Government Administration Committee Hearing on HB2955
March 12, 2013Six simple steps
February 20, 2013The Illinois Report 2013
February 20, 2013And miles to go before it's balanced
January 17, 2013How will limiting cost of living adjustments affect the value of state pensions?
June 12, 2012The Illinois state budget: How bad is the picture, and what can you do about it?
February 3, 2012The Illinois Report 2012
February 3, 2012Through a dark glass
September 29, 2011Transparency in state budgets
July 26, 2011Why ignore over half of the illinois state budget picture?
April 8, 2011Public pensions in Illinois
January 20, 2011Titanic and sinking: The Illinois budget disaster
January 20, 2011Illinois' economy: Past trends, current challenges, future prospects
January 18, 2011Fiscal Fallout No. 5
January 10, 2011Fiscal Fallout No. 4
October 11, 2010Fiscal Fallout No. 3
September 7, 2010Fiscal Fallout No. 2
August 23, 2010Fiscal Fallout No. 1
January 10, 2008The Illinois Report 2008
January 10, 2008Illinois' fiscal future
March 1, 2006Alternatives to Cook County's 7 percent cap on assessment increases