Bio
Edward Rendell
Edward G. Rendell is serving his second term as Pennsylvania's 45th Governor, overseeing a $28.3 billion budget in the nation's sixth-most-populous state. His strategic investments have energized Pennsylvania's economy, created jobs, revitalized communities, improved education, protected the environment, and expanded access to health care for children and affordable prescription drugs for older adults.
Governor Rendell is also working to create jobs in the emerging alternative energy economy and develop strategies to reduce dependence on foreign oil and save families money. Rendell was the 121st Mayor of the City of Philadelphia (1992–99), eliminating a $250 million deficit; balancing the city's budget and generating five consecutive budget surpluses; reducing business and wage taxes for four consecutive years; implementing new revenue-generating initiatives, and improving services to neighborhoods.
The New York Times called the Philadelphia renaissance under Rendell "the most stunning turnaround in recent urban history." Before serving as Mayor, Rendell was elected district attorney of the City of Philadelphia (1978–85).
Kathy Shandling
Kathy Shandling is the Executive Director of the International Private Water Association (IPWA), a global advocacy/non-profit organization that serves as a conduit between the public and private sector players involved in the water/wastewater infrastructure project and service arena. IPWA specifically promotes the implementation of public-private partnerships and the development/use of long-term sustainable financing tools. Ms. Shandling was instrumental in launching the IPWA Financial Tools Taskforce that has been steadfast in its support of evolving local currency financing initiatives for the funding of water/wastewater infrastructure projects in developing countries.
Prior to joining IPWA in CY2000, Ms. Shandling had been involved in the international project finance/infrastructure finance arena through positions held at Infrastructure Finance Magazine, the World Council for Infrastructure Development, and Global Finance Media. She has authored several articles for leading water infrastructure publications including a recent cover story focused on the growth of global private equity funds in the water sector.
Kathy Shandling holds an MSc Economics (political economics) from The London School of Economics and a BA from Wellesley College.
Encyclopædia Britannica Article
- fiscal policy
Measures employed by governments to stabilize the economy, specifically by adjusting the levels and allocations of taxes and government expenditures. When the economy is sluggish, the government may cut taxes, leaving taxpayers with extra cash to spend and thereby increasing levels of consumption. An increase in public-works spending may likewise pump cash into the economy, having an expansionary effect. Conversely, a decrease in government spending or an increase in taxes tends to cause the economy to contract. Fiscal policy is often used in tandem with monetary policy. Until the 1930s, fiscal policy aimed at maintaining a balanced budget; since then it has been used “countercyclically,” as recommended by John Maynard Keynes, to offset the cycle of expansion and contraction in the economy. Fiscal policy is more effective at stimulating a flagging economy than at cooling an inflationary one, partly because spending cuts and tax increases are unpopular and partly because of the work of economic stabilizers. See also business cycle.
- fiscal policy on britannica.com
© 2010 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Watch Now
