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Roy Kelly, Professor of the Practice Emeritus  

Office Location: 280 Rubenstein Hall, 302 Towerview Road, Durham, NC 27708
Duke Box: 90237
Email Address: roykelly@duke.edu
Web Page: https://duke.box.com/s/mqosfudwr3qhopelbrxrtezj46r08fqx

Areas of Expertise

  • International, International Development
  • Public Finance, State and Local Government Finance

Education:
Ph.D., Harvard University, 1985
MCRP, Harvard University, 1981
M.A., Harvard University, 1981
B.A., West Virginia University, 1976

Research Categories: International Development

Current projects: Fiscal Decentralization in Ghana, Fiscal Decentralization and Property Tax Reform, Improving Public Financial Management through Decentralization in Developing Countries

Research Description: Research: Fiscal Decentralization; Public financial management and budgeting, intergovernmental transfers; local government finance; property taxation

Representative Publications   (More Publications)

  1. Kelly, R. "Making the Property Tax Work." (April, 2013). [repository]  [abs] [author's comments]
  2. with Kelly, R; Boex, J. "Fiscal Federalism and Intergovernmental Financial Relations." International Handbook of Public Financial Management. Ed. Allan, R; Hemming, R; Potter, B Palgrave McMillan, 2013
  3. Kelly, R. "Property Tax Collection and Enforcement." Primer for the Property Tax. Ed. McCluskey, W Wiley-Blackwell Publication, 2013
  4. R. Kelly and Jamie Boex. "Fiscal Decentralization in Kenya: A Small Step or Giant Leap?”." (2011). Urban Institute Policy Brief, May 2011 [html]
  5. R. Kelly. "“Stock Taking of Fiscal Decentralization Policies in Nepal: Consolidated Report,”." (2011). [Stocktaking%20Final%20Report_%20Kelly%202012%20revised.pdf]  [abs] [author's comments]
  6. Devas, N; Kelly, R. "Regulation or revenues? An analysis of local business licenses, with a case study of the single business permit reform in Kenya." Public Administration and Development 21.5 (December, 2001): 381-391. [doi]  [abs]
  7. Kelly, R. "Designing a Property Tax Reform for Sub-Saharan Africa: An Analytical Framework applied to Kenya." Public Finance and Budgeting 20.4 (2000): 36-51.
  8. Glenday, RKWG; Mehta, M. "Kenya: An Assessment of Local Service Delivery and Local Government in Kenya." World Bank Report 24383 (2003).
  9. Kelly, R; Jenkins, G; Khadka, R. ""Central-Local Fiscal Relations"." Reengineering Tax Systems in Low-Income Countries: An Application to Nepal. Ed. Jenkins, GP; Khadka, R New York: Kluwer Law International, 2002
  10. Kelly, R; Montes, M; Maseya, E; Nkandkha, K; Tombere, K. "Improving Revenue Mobilization in Malawi: Study on Business Licensing and Property Rates (Final Report)." (October, 2001). (Policy Research submitted to the Decentralization Secretariat (Government of Malawi).)  [abs]
  11. Kelly, R. "Strengthening the Revenue Side." Fiscal Decentralization in Indonesia a Decade after Big Bang. University of Indonesia Press, 2012 [repository]  [abs]

Curriculum Vitae

Highlight:

Roy Kelly is Professor of the Practice of Public Policy, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University and the Director of the Program on Fiscal Decentralization and Local Government Financial Management. Prior to coming to Duke, he spent 19 years with the Harvard Kennedy School, the Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID), and the Harvard International Tax Program, focusing on local government finance, tax analysis and project evaluation.

Kelly has 40 years of experience in teaching and in designing and implementing reforms on fiscal decentralization, local government finance, revenue mobilization and property taxation in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe.  He served as a resident advisor to the governments of Indonesia, Kenya, Cambodia and Tanzania and as a short-term advisor in over 30 different countries. Kelly received his MCRP and Ph.D. in Urban Planning from Harvard University.

Roy Kelly