Nahoko Hoshino is a professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business at Wako University in Tokyo, Japan. The coming year, she uses her sabbatical leave from her work in Japan to do research in the Netherlands at the Erasmus Study Centre of Local Taxes (ESBL).
Among other research topics, prof. Hoshino plans to research how on-going decentralization in Netherlands influences local governments. The research will place emphasis on whether fiscal transfers, especially those from the Municipalities Fund, are sufficient to enable municipalities to fulfill their new responsibilities and whether general fiscal transfers are redistributed to meet additional tasks. This research will have implications for how social welfare services should be financed under decentralization, an important question that Japan also faces.
At the ESBL we are very happy that Nahoko Hoshino is strengthening our research capacity coming year and we are looking forward to working together.
About Erasmus Study Centre of Local Taxes
The ESBL conducts scientific research in the field of taxation by municipalities, water boards and other local authorities in the Netherlands and abroad. The research focuses on the fiscal and economic aspects of local taxes. Part of the research is commissioned by third parties, like municipalities and government ministries. Organizing and contributing to conferences, seminars etc. is also considered to be a part of the tasks of the ESBL.