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.

Bios of conference speakers are available here»

(Go to Day 2»)

Day 1: Tuesday, July 18

10:00 am – Welcome

10:10 am – Paper Session 1: Climate Change and Municipal Finance
Moderator: Dan Bergstresser (Brandeis International Business School)
Transcript »

• 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)
  Paper»  Slides»
  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)
  Paper»  Slides»
  Discussant: Monica Reid (Kestrel)
  Slides»
  
• Natural Disasters and Municipal Bonds
  Authors: Jun Kyung Auh (Yonsei University); Jaewon Choi (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign); Tatyana Deryugina (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and Tim Park (Analysis Group)
  Paper»  Slides»
  Discussant: Ivan Ivanov (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago)
  Slides»

11:55 am – Breakout Discussion Groups over Lunch (*for in-person participation only)

• State and Local Budgets and Credit Quality 
  The current state of state and local budgets and credit quality.
  Host: Louise Sheiner (Brookings Hutchins Center)
  Location: Stein Room (2^nd Floor)
• Federal Infrastructure and Transportation
  The impact of recent federal legislation and the post-COVID environment on state and local infrastructure and transportation systems.
  Host: Dan Bergstresser (Brandeis International Business School)
  Location: St. Louis Room (Ground Floor)
• Reporting and Disclosure
  A discussion of the methods and types of disclosure and data investors and regulators are requiring.
  Host: Rich Ryffel (Washington University in St. Louis)
  Location: Kresge Room (2^nd Floor)
• Market Data and Yield Curves
  A discussion of muni market conditions – the inverted yield curve, the outlook for new issuance, changing credit conditions, and other relevant topics.
  Host: Justin Marlowe (University of Chicago)
  Location: Johnson Room (Ground Floor)

1:00 pm – Paper Session 2 (Concurrent)

Concurrent Session A: State and Local Tax Issues (*please note session location)
Moderator: Tracy Gordon (Urban Institute)
Location: Falk Auditorium (Ground Floor)
Transcript »

• 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)
  Paper»  Slides»
  Discussant: Timothy Bartik (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research)
  Slides»
  
• 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)
  Paper»  Slides»
  Discussant: Kim Rueben (Urban Institute)
  Slides»

Concurrent Session B: Municipal Borrowing Costs (*please note session location)
*To watch the livestream of this concurrent session, please join the Zoom webinar here» (Webinar ID: 824 2137 8062; Passcode: 820990; Dial-in: 301.715.8592 or find your local number here). We will livestream the concurrent session A on this page.

Moderator: Rich Ryffel (Washington University in St. Louis)
Location: Saul Room (Ground Floor)

• Savings Lost: The High Cost of Early Refinancing
  Authors: Andrew Kalotay (Kalotay Advisors) and Martin Luby (University of Texas at Austin)
  Paper»  Slides»
  Discussant: Khalen Dwyer (Columbia Capital Management)
• The Dodd-Frank Act and Municipal Borrowing Costs: Evidence from Nationwide Data
  Author: Ruth Winecoff (Rutgers University–New Brunswick)
  Paper»  Slides»
  Discussant: Lori Raineri (Government Financial Services Joint Powers Authority)

2:10 pm – Break

2:20 pm – “In a Bad State: Responding to State and Local Budget Crises”: A Conversation with Author David Schleicher (Yale Law School)
Moderator: Justin Marlowe (University of Chicago)
Transcript »

3:20 pm – Break

3:25 pm – Paper Session 3: Current Issues in State and Local Finance
Moderator: Mark Funkhouser (Funkhouser & Associates)
Transcript »

• How Do Retiree Health Benefit Promises Affect Municipal Financing
  Authors: Sebastien Betermier (McGill University); Sara Holland (University of Oklahoma) and Sean Wilkoff (University of Nevada, Reno)
  Paper»  Slides»
  Discussant: Byron Lutz (Federal Reserve Board)
  Slides»
  
• School District Borrowing and Capital Spending: The Effectiveness of State Credit Enhancement
  Author: Lang (Kate) Yang (George Washington University)
  Paper»  Slides»
  Discussant: Christine Cuny (New York University)
  Slides»
  

4:35 pm – Break

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

Moderator: David Wessel (Brookings Hutchins Center)
Transcript »

5:45 pm – Cocktail Reception

(Back to Day 1»)

Day 2: Wednesday, July 19

8:15 am – Breakfast

8:30 am – Paper Session 4: Current Issues in Municipal Borrowing
Moderator: Stephen Winterstein (SP Winterstein & Associates)
Transcript »

• Pushing Bonds Over the Edge:
  Investor Demand 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)
  Paper»  Slides»
  Discussant: Kevin Bain (City of Detroit)
  Slides»
• The Complexity Yield Puzzle: A Textual Analysis of Municipal Bond Disclosures
  Authors: Michael Farrell (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee); Dermot Murphy (University of Illinois Chicago); Marcus Painter (Saint Louis University) and Guangli Zhang (Saint Louis University)
  Paper»  Slides»
  Discussant: Win Smith (Wells Fargo)
• Financing Infrastructure with Inattentive Investors: The Case of US Municipal Governments
  Author: Ehsan Azarmsa (University of Illinois Chicago)
  Paper»  Slides»
  Discussant: Kent Hiteshew (Ernst & Young)
  Slides»

10:15 am – Break

10:30 am – Paper Session 5: Current Issues in the Municipal Bond Market
Moderator: Yaffa Rattner (HilltopSecurities)
Transcript »

• Financial Reporting Standards for US State and Local Governments
  Author: Marc Joffe (Cato Institute)
  Paper»  Slides»
  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)
  Paper»  Slides»
  Discussant: Igor Cunha (University of Kentucky)
  Slides»
• The Double Benefit Myth: Disallowed Interest Expense and Inefficiency in the Municipal Bond Market
  Author: Adam Looney (University of Utah)
  Paper»  Slides»
  Discussant: Bradley Wendt (Charles River Associates)

12:15 pm – Break

12:20 pm – Panel: What Are the Long-Lasting Effects of COVID on Downtowns and Municipal Finance?
Moderator: David Wessel (Brookings Hutchins Center)
Transcript »

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

1:20 pm – End of Program