Alex Combs

• PhD, University of Kentucky, Public Policy and Administration, 2018
• MPA, University of Kentucky, 2014
• BA, Eastern Kentucky University, Political Science, 2009

• Public Finance & Budgeting
• State and Local Taxes
• Educational Finance

• Best Field Note of the Year, State and Local Government Review, 2024
• UGA Student Career Success Influence Award, 2024
• UGA Student Career Success Influence Award, 2025

• PADP 7120 – Data Applications
• PADP 8430 – Financial Management
• PADP 3100 – Introduction to Policy Analysis
• PADP 4640 – Introduction to Nonprofit Administration

How various features of state and local taxes, such as property and sales, affect educational spending between school districts and between rural and urban locations.

The potential for tax and expenditure limits imposed on schools to spill over into the nonprofit sector in ways that may advance or hinder school finance equalization.

The composition of state funding between higher education appropriations and various types of student financial aid and its impact on college access, migration, degree completion, and institutional budget expenditures.

Combs, A. E., Foster, J. M., & Troland, E. E. (2026). The Role of Property Assessment Oversight in School Finance Inequality. National Tax Journal, 79(3).

Combs, A. E., & Afonso, W. B. (2025). Dollars, desks, and development: The impact of local sales tax revenue redistribution on recipient programs in North Carolina. National Tax Journal, 78(2), 295-326.

Combs, A., & Kim, S. (2026). Constraints and Contributions: The Effects of Tax Limits on Education-Supporting Nonprofit Revenue. Public Finance Review, 54(5), 733-764.