7th annual Municipal Finance Conference

The evolving municipal advisor market in the post Dodd-Frank era
Authors: Daniel Bergstresser (Brandeis International Business School), Martin Luby (LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin)
Discussant: Marianne Edmonds (Public Resources Advisory Group)

The impact of Dodd-Frank on credit ratings and bond yields: The municipal securities’ case
Authors: Yulianti Abbas (Universitas Indonesia), Craig Johnson, Chantalle LaFontant (Indiana University)
Discussant: Ashton Goodfield (Deutsche Asset Management)

Sessions moderated by: David Wessel (Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy, Brookings Institution)

Investor attention and municipal bond returns
Authors: Kimberly Cornaggia (Smeal College of Business, Penn State University), John Hund (Terry College of Business, University of Georgia), Giang Nguyen (Smeal College of Business, Penn State University)
Discussant: Brad Wendt (U.S. Department of Treasury)

Organizational form and liquidity: Evidence from closed-end and open-end municipal bond funds
Authors: John Chalmers, Zhi (Jay) Wang, Jingyun Yang (Lundquist College of Business, University of Oregon)
Discussant: Steve Winterstein (Wilmington Trust)

Life without advance refunding
Author: Andrew Kalotay (Andrew Kalotay Associates)
Discussant: Adam Looney (Brookings Institution)

Sessions moderated by: Rich Ryffel (Olin School of Business, Washington University in St. Louis)

Budget processes and the Great Recession: How state fiscal institutions shape tax and spending decisions
Authors: Kim Rueben, Megan Randall, Aravind Boddupalli (Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, Urban Institute)
Discussant: Ben Watkins (State Board of Administration, Florida)

The retail sales tax in a new economy (Read blog post here »)
Authors: Sharon Kioko (Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Washington), John Mikesell (School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University)
Discussant: Tracy Gordon (Urban Institute)

Tax advantages and imperfect competition in auctions for municipal bonds
Authors: Daniel Garrett, Andrey Ordin, James Roberts, Juan Carlos Suárez Serrato (Duke University)
Discussant: Linda Matkowski (Stern Brothers)

Sessions moderated by: Louise Sheiner (Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy, Brookings Institution)

The “privatization” of municipal debt
Authors: Ivan Ivanov (Federal Reserve Board), Tom Zimmermann (University of Cologne)
Discussant: Colin MacNaught (BondLink)

Financing the response to climate change: The pricing and ownership of U.S. green bonds (Read blog post here »)
Authors: Malcolm Baker (Harvard Business School), Daniel Bergstresser (Brandeis International Business School), George Serafeim (Harvard Business School), Jeffrey Wurgler (NYU Stern School of Business)
Discussant: Tim Coffin (Breckinridge Capital Advisors)

Financing dies in darkness? The impact of newspaper closures on public finance (Read blog post here »)
Authors: Pengjie Gao (Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame), Chang Lee, Dermot Murphy (College of Business, University of Illinois at Chicago)
Discussant: Leslie McGranahan (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago)

Sessions moderated by: Peter Orr (Intuitive Analytics)

Public pensions, political economy and state government borrowing costs (Read blog post here »)
Author: Chuck Boyer (Booth School of Business, University of Chicago)
Discussant: Natalie Cohen (Wells Fargo Securities)

When needed public pension reforms fail or appear to be legally impossible, what then? Are unbalanced budgets, deficits, and government collapse the only answer? (Read blog post here »)
Author: James Spiotto (Chapman Strategic Advisors, LLC)
Discussant: Carol O’Cleireacain (Former Deputy Mayor of Economic Policy and Planning, Detroit)

Analyzing the interplay between public-pension finances and government finances: Lessons from linking an economic model to a pension fund model
Authors: Don Boyd (University at Albany, SUNY), Yimeng Yin (Rockefeller Institute of Government)
Discussant: Laura Quinby (Center for Retirement Research, Boston College)

Sessions moderated by: Michael Belsky (Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago)

What went wrong?: The Puerto Rican debt crisis and the “Treasury Put” (Read blog post here »)
Authors: Bob Chirinko, Ryan Chiu, Shaina Henderson (University of Illinois at Chicago)
Discussant: Brad Setser (Council on Foreign Relations)

State tax cuts and debt market outcomes: An empirical analysis of the Kansas tax reform (Read blog post here »)
Authors: Komla Dzigbede (Binghamton University, SUNY), Rahul Pathak (Baruch College, CUNY)
Discussant: Laura Porter (Fitch Ratings)

Sessions moderated by: Daniel Bergstresser (Brandeis International Business School)

Aviva Aron-Dine, Vice President for Health Policy, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Eric Kim, Director, U.S. Public Finance, Fitch Ratings
Kate McEvoy, Director, Division of Health Services, Connecticut Department of Social Services
Moderated by: Louise Sheiner, Senior Fellow and Policy Director, Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy, Brookings Institution