We are seeking papers for our 12th annual Municipal Finance Conference, to be held in person July 18-19, 2023 at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. The conference is sponsored by the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution, the Rosenberg Institute of Global Finance at Brandeis International Business School, Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, and the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

The Municipal Finance Conference brings together academics, practitioners, and state and local government officials to discuss recent research on municipal finance and economic and fiscal issues affecting state and local governments more broadly. In recent years, paper topics have included benefits of and limits to disclosure regulation in the muni market, the impact of the Fed’s COVID-related lending facilities, the impact of local newspaper closures on municipal borrowing costs, changes in the municipal advisor market in the post Dodd-Frank era, the sustainability of state and local government pensions, marijuana liberalization’s effects on public finance, and whether municipal bond ETFs improve market quality. 

  • We are seeking proposals on a broad variety of topics related to state and local fiscal policy and public finance, including but not limited to the post-COVID economic environment for cities and other issuers, the evolution of the municipal bond market and regulation of it, the impact of recent federal spending legislation (including infrastructure, CHIPS Act, Inflation Reduction Act),  and climate change.
  • The conference will be primarily in person—there will be a livestream option for remote viewers, but all presenters will be required to attend in person in Washington, DC. Travel support will be available for up to one author per paper.
  • Papers do not have to be original to this conference. We welcome papers that have been presented elsewhere.
  • Deadline for proposals is March 3, 2023. Selection decisions will be made by March 31, 2023, and drafts of selected papers will be due by May 26, 2023. Final papers for conference presentation will be due by July 11, 2023. 

Materials from last year’s conference (including final papers, session videos, and more) are posted here: https://www.brookings.edu/events/11th-annual-municipal-finance-conference/.

Click "Next" below to submit a proposal. Please reach out to Haowen Chen (hnchen@brookings.edu) if you have any questions. 

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