In Memoriam

Peter Mieszkowski, Professor Emeritus of Economics and former Cline Professor of Economics and Finance, passed away on December 25, 2024. Professor Mieszkowski was an internationally recognized scholar of public economics who published many path-breaking contributions that helped shape the field. A celebration of his life was held at Rice University on October 11, 2025, which included a video montage of comments from his friends and colleagues and a slideshow of pictures depicting his life.

Peter Mieszkowski joined the Rice Economics Department in 1981 as the Allyn R. and Gladys M. Cline Professor of Economics and Finance. He previously held positions at the University of Houston, Queen's University (Canada), and Yale University. He earned his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University and M.A. and B.S. degrees from McGill University.

Professor Mieszkowski’s research centered on public finance and urban economics. Much of this research is presented in a collection of his essays published in 1999, entitled Taxes, Public Goods and Urban Economics: The Selected Essays of Peter Mieszkowski. The breadth and impact of his many contributions were recognized in 2009 when he was awarded the Daniel M. Holland Medal, which recognizes lifetime achievement in the theory and practice of public finance and is the most prestigious honor presented by the National Tax Association.

Peter published many seminal articles over the course of his illustrious career. His early work focused on the use of general equilibrium modeling to analyze the effects of taxes, especially on the distribution of income in the U.S. economy. This research included what is perhaps his most famous article, “The Property Tax: An Excise Tax or a Profits Tax?,” published in 1972 in the premier issue of the Journal of Public Economics. The “new view” of the property tax it presents fundamentally changed perceptions about both the economic effects and the distributional implications of a tax that is still the primary source of own-revenues for local governments in the United States.

In work with Rice public finance economist George Zodrow, Peter published a 1986 article that developed the theory of tax competition, under which subnational governments (or national governments in an international context) are reluctant to tax capital due to its interjurisdictional mobility, which in turn leads to suboptimally low capital income taxes and the under-provision of public services. This article, which has garnered some 3,000 citations, initiated a voluminous literature that to this day continues to explore a wide variety of aspects of tax competition.

Peter’s many other contributions are renowned for the broad range of topics that he investigated. His research included analyses of both national and state corporate income taxes, state sales taxes, models of regional taxation including taxes on land rents, the effects of unions on the distribution of income, the extent of racial discrimination in housing, pension plans, the determinants of health, the effects of land use regulation, peer group effects on education, and urban decentralization.

Peter’s career also included work on more applied topics. In an early paper with Nobel laureate James Tobin and tax policy icon Joseph Pechman, he examined the feasibility of implementing a negative income tax — a precursor to today’s popular Earned Income Tax Credit. He also examined the desirability and feasibility of implementing a consumption tax, the effects of intergovernmental grants, and the economic impacts of taxes on energy. Finally, he worked on some tax reform projects in transition economies, including an analysis of reform options in his native Poland as it emerged from the shadow of Soviet rule.

For further information, please see the Rice News article and Professor Zodrow’s article on the awarding of the National Tax Association’s Holland Medal to Professor Mieszkowski. The collection of his most influential articles is available from Edward Elgar Publishing.