State legislatures are a key partner in the provision of the transportation systems and services that drive metro area regions and their economies. State governments and their local government partners are responsible for nearly three-quarters of total U.S. expenditures on transportation, and that share has been increasing over time.
On Monday, July 11, Brookings Metro will host an event exploring the future of U.S. transportation policy through a state-level lens. Dr. Andrew Waxman, an environmental economist at the LBJ School, and other speakers will highlight findings from a recent University of Texas study surfacing how lawmakers are framing the prospects for state-level policy innovation, particularly with respect to transportation funding and energy transition. A panel of state legislators will follow, discussing their priorities, strategies for aligning key stakeholders, and how new federal funding is affecting legislative agenda-setting.
Viewers can submit questions by emailing events@brookings.edu or tweeting to @BrookingsMetro using the hashtag #StateTransportation.
Speakers
Dr. Andrew Waxman
Dr. Waxman is an applied microeconomist at the LBJ School at The University of Texas at Austin. examining the relationship between environmental outcomes, urban policies and inequality. Much of his work consists in trying to think about how household location decisions of place of work and residence have implications for levels of emissions from home electricity usage as well as from commuting using personal vehicles. The link between these sectors has important implications for the design of cities and for understanding the full effects of policies targeting housing or transportation. Dr. Waxman has also studied real-time pricing of congested freeways in Los Angeles and has worked on research exploring how public transportation capacity in cities affects the welfare of high- and low-skilled workers.