The muni market in the post-Detroit and post-Puerto Rico bankruptcy era
Past Event
Keynote address by Alejandro García Padilla

Keynote address by Alejandro García Padilla

Panel: The muni market in the post-Detroit and post-Puerto Rico era

Changing patterns in household ownership of municipal debt

Municipal borrowing costs and state policies for distressed municipalities

Municipal finance structure and Chapter 9 creditor priorities

Term limits and municipal borrowing costs

Why has regional income convergence in the U.S. declined?

State strategies for detecting fiscal distress in local governments

Pensions and other post-employment benefits
Puerto Rico is the latest, but probably not the last, case of a local government confronting financial strains that call into question its ability to meet its obligations to bondholders while providing services to its taxpaying constituents. Puerto Rico is, of course, a special case because it is a territory, not a state or municipality. Will Puerto Rico’s problems have ripple effects for the $3.7 trillion U.S. municipal bond market? What about the resolution of Detroit’s bankruptcy? How will state and local governments and the courts weigh the interests of pensioners, employees, taxpayers and bondholders when there isn’t enough money to go around?
On Tuesday, July 12, the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings webcasted the keynote address from the 5th annual Municipal Finance Conference, delivered by the sitting governor of Puerto Rico, Hon. Alejandro García Padilla. After Governor Padilla’s remarks on Puerto Rico’s future, Hutchins Center Director David Wessel moderated a panel on the politics and practice of municipal finance in the post-Detroit and post-Puerto Rico era.
Join the conversation and tweet questions for the panelists at #MuniFinance.
Agenda
Keynote address and audience Q&A
The Hon. Alejandro García Padilla
Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Panel: The muni market in the post-Detroit and post-Puerto Rico era
David Wessel
Director - The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy
Senior Fellow - Economic Studies
Natalie Cohen
President - National Municipal Research
Judge Gerald E. Rosen
Former Chief Judge - United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
James Spiotto
Managing Director - Chapman Strategic Advisors
Ben Watkins
Director - Florida Division of Bond Finance
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