12th annual Municipal Finance Conference

The annual Municipal Finance Conference brings together academics, practitioners, issuers, and regulators to discuss recent research on municipal capital markets and state and local fiscal issues. The conference is a joint venture of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings, the Rosenberg Institute of Global Finance at the Brandeis International Business School, the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, and the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. The 2023 conference will be held primarily in person – there will be livestream options for remote viewers – on July 18 and 19 at Brookings Institution. 

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*This is a draft agenda. Session timings are subject to change. (Go to Day 2»)

Day 1: Tuesday, July 18

10:00 am – Welcome

Paper Session 1 – Climate Change and Municipal Finance

Session Moderator:
Dan Bergstresser (Brandeis University)

10:10 am – Is Physical Climate Risk Priced? Evidence from Regional Variation in Exposure to Heat Stress

Authors: Viral Acharya (New York University); Tim Johnson (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign); Suresh Sundaresan (Columbia Business School) and Tuomas Tomunen (Boston College)

Discussant: Tom Doe (Municipal Market Analytics)

The Emerging Greenium

Authors: Boyuan Li (University of Florida); Baolian Wang (University of Florida) and Jiawei Yu (Renmin University of China)

Discussant: Monica Reid (Kestrel)

Natural Disasters and Municipal Bonds

Authors: Jun Kyung Auh (Yonsei University and Columbia University); Jaewon Choi (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign); Tatyana Deryugina (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) and Tim Park (Analysis Group)

Discussant: Ivan Ivanov (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago)

11:55 am – Lunch (breakout groups)

Paper Session 2 (Concurrent)

Concurrent Session A – State and Local Tax Issues
Moderator: Tracy Gordon (Urban Institute)

1:00 pm – Firm Responses to State Hiring Subsidies: Regression Discontinuity Evidence from a Tax Credit Formula

Authors: Matthew Freedman (University of California, Irvine); Benjamin Hyman (Federal Reserve Bank of New York); Shantanu Khanna (Northeastern University) and David Neumark (University of California, Irvine)

Discussant: Tim Bartik (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research)

Tax and Transfer Progressivity at the US State Level

Authors: Johannes Fleck (Federal Reserve Board); Jonathan Heathcote (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis); Kjetil Storesletten (University of Minnesota) and Gianluca Violante (Princeton University)

Discussant: Kim Rueben (Urban Institute)

Concurrent Session B – Municipal Borrowing Costs
Moderator: Rich Ryffel (Washington University in St. Louis)

1:00 pm – Savings Lost: The High Cost of Early Refinancing

Authors: Andrew Kalotay (Kalotay Advisors) and Martin Luby (University of Texas at Austin)

Discussant: Khalen Dwyer (Columbia Capital Management)

Dodd-Frank and Municipal Borrowing Costs: Evidence from Nationwide Data

Author: Ruth Winecoff (Rutgers University)

Discussant: Lori Raineri (Government Financial Services Joint Powers Authority)

2:10 pm – Break

Panel – Public Pensions in an Era of Inflation and Changing Interest Rates  

Panel Moderators:
Justin Marlowe (University of Chicago) and Louise Sheiner (Brookings Hutchins Center)

2:20 pm 

Panelists: Patricia Bishop (Virginia Retirement System) and others TBD

3:20 pm – Break

Paper Session 3 – Current Issues in State and Local Finance  

Session Moderator:
TBD

3:25 pm – How Do Retiree Health Benefit Promises Affect Municipal Financing

Authors: Sara Holland (University of Oklahoma) and Sean Wilkoff (University of Nevada, Reno)

Discussant: Byron Lutz (Federal Reserve Board)

School District Borrowing and Capital Spending: The Effectiveness of State Credit Enhancement

Author: Lang “Kate” Yang (George Washington University)

Discussant: TBD

4:35 pm – Break

4:45 pm – Fireside Chat with Mayor Tim Keller (Albuquerque, NM) and Mayor Levar Stoney (Richmond, VA)

Moderator: David Wessel (Brookings Hutchins Center)

5:45 pm – Cocktail Reception

 

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*This is a draft agenda. Session timings are subject to change. (Back to Day 1»)

Day 2: Wednesday, July 19

8:15 am – Breakfast

Paper Session 4 – Current Issues in Municipal Borrowing

Session Moderator:
TBD

8:30 am – Pushing Bonds Over the Edge: Monetary Policy and Municipal Bond Liquidity

Authors: John Bagley (Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board); Stefan Gissler (Federal Reserve Board); Kent Hiteshew (Ernst & Young) and Ivan Ivanov (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago)

Discussant: Kevin Bain (City of Detroit Treasury)

The Complexity Yield Puzzle: A Systematic Textual Analysis of Municipal Bond Disclosures

Authors: Michael Farrell (University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee); Dermot Murphy (University of Illinois, Chicago);  Marcus Painter (St. Louis University) and Guangli Zhang (St. Louis University)

Discussant: Win Smith (Wells Fargo)

Financing Infrastructure with Inattentive Investors: The Case of US Municipal Governments

Author: Ehsan Azarmsa (University of Oklahoma)

Discussant: Kent Hiteshew (Ernst & Young)

10:15 am – Break

Paper Session 5 – Current Issues in the Municipal Bond Market

Session Moderator:
TBD

10:30 am – Financial Reporting Standards for US State and Local Government

Author: Marc Joffe (Cato Institute)

Discussant: Ahmed Abonamah (City of Cleveland)

Private Activity Bonds as Investment Subsidy: Evidence from the 1986 Cap on Bond Volumes

Author: Lisa Knauer (Technical University of Munich)

Discussant: Igor Cunha (University of Kentucky)

The Misguided Disallowance of Interest Deductions Allocated to Tax-Exempt Income and Liquidity in the Tax-Exempt Bond Market

Author: Adam Looney (University of Utah)

Discussant: Brad Wendt (Charles River Associates)

12:15 pm – Break

Panel –  What Are the Long-Lasting Effects on COVID on Downtowns and Municipal Finance?

Session Moderator:
David Wessel (Brookings Hutchins Center)

12:20 pm 

Panelists: James Duguid (JPMorgan Chase & Co. Institute); Natalie Cohen (National Municipal Research); Jessie Handbury (University of Pennsylvania Wharton School) and Glen Lee (District of Columbia)

1:20 pm – Lunch