Papers by Christine Martell
Public Finance Review, May 21, 2012
This article investigates the impact of state-level tax and expenditure limits (TELs) on state go... more This article investigates the impact of state-level tax and expenditure limits (TELs) on state government revenues and aid to local governments. Using an instrumental variable approach to control for endogeneity, the authors find that the general fund TELs (i.e., revenue and expenditure limits) have led to substantial increases in tax and nontax revenues. States with procedural limits (i.e., those with voter approval and/or legislative supermajority requirements votes) have significantly lower tax revenues. For states with these procedural limits, their ability to impose new or higher taxes is limited by the rules for passing such legislation. This study also finds that states with general fund TELs have higher levels of aid to local governments, while those with procedural TELs have lower levels of aid. Local government property tax limits do not have any impact on taxing authority of states and have only marginal impacts on the state-aid programs.
Public Budgeting & Finance, 2013
ABSTRACT Improving transparency of prices paid by government can improve market and government ef... more ABSTRACT Improving transparency of prices paid by government can improve market and government efficiency. Governments regularly pay to access capital markets, yet municipal bond issuance costs remain largely hidden from public view. This study examines factors associated with credit rating fees using a decade of Texas municipal bond issuance data. We find that rating fees are lower in a competitive environment, when issuers have experience and a relationship with the rating agency, and higher when the issue is large and more complex. The findings provide evidence that credit rating agencies (CRAs) retained pricing power following the credit crisis despite reduced reputational quality.
Public administration and development, 2008
In an effort to understand subnational borrowing, this article explores how three Brazilian insti... more In an effort to understand subnational borrowing, this article explores how three Brazilian institutions-the 1988 Constitution which mandates revenue and expenditure assignments among the levels of the federation; the national Law of Fiscal Responsibility, which imposes expenditure and debt limitations on all levels and branches of government; and various borrowing arrangements-affect the municipal borrowing environment. These institutions are examined in light of de Mello's (2001) policy recommendations for strengthening efficiency and fiscal discipline in subnational borrowing. The institutions of Brazilian borrowing were found to have some of de Mello's recommendations, with the new Constitution and the Law of Fiscal Responsibility making progress towards increased fiscal responsibility, but the current borrowing arrangements serving to maintain a controlled system that is not conducive to responsible municipal borrowing. Several recommendations are made to improve the borrowing environment and foster fiscal discipline and efficiency Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
African Population Studies, 2017
Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy, Third Edition, 2020
Information Resolution and Subnational Capital Markets, 2021
This chapter tests the argument that information resolution is needed for subnational government ... more This chapter tests the argument that information resolution is needed for subnational government capital markets by focusing on nationwide information resolution institutions and how they bear upon the activity and size of subnational government capital markets. It presents evidence how contractibility— information transparency, extent of disclosure, and regulatory quality—impact the size of subnational government debt. The analysis establishes that national capacity to resolve information problems in the credit system affect subnational borrowing, other fundamental institutions held constant. This analysis addresses the questions: What aspects of information resolution matter? How does information resolution affect the size of subnational government capital markets?
Information Resolution and Subnational Capital Markets, 2021
This chapter furthers an understanding of how information resolution relates to borrowing and deb... more This chapter furthers an understanding of how information resolution relates to borrowing and debt composition at the city level. The study examines the role of credit ratings, as well as the key informational components of credit quality, for city borrowing levels and debt structure. The informational components of credit quality include economic, fiscal, debt and financial, and governance factors. This chapter evaluates city debt for the largest cities in select countries with SNG market activity across the globe by asking: What debt levels do cities have, and what is the composition of that debt? How does information resolution, both information resolution institutions and the underlying components of credit quality information assessment, influence subnational-level borrowing?
Information Resolution and Subnational Capital Markets, 2021
Chapter 3 establishes the rationale for subnational government debt, the infrastructure pressures... more Chapter 3 establishes the rationale for subnational government debt, the infrastructure pressures on subnational governments, and the context within which subnational government borrowing occurs. It begins with a review of the fiscal governance task in the face of demands for local infrastructure provision, and the institutional contexts of subnational government borrowing. The chapter then discusses how subnational government infrastructure provision and borrowing fit with a growing perspective of financial governance innovations. It continues with an introduction to capital-financing options, an overview of subnational government borrowing, and potential problems with subnational government borrowing. Then, the chapter explores fundamental dimensions of institutional contexts that affect subnational government borrowing. It ends by explicitly recognizing the role of information and setting a research agenda about efforts to improve information resolution institutions and mechanism...
Information Resolution and Subnational Capital Markets, 2021
Chapter 1 introduces the book by presenting the main arguments that information resolution is a n... more Chapter 1 introduces the book by presenting the main arguments that information resolution is a necessary component of SNG capital market development and access to external financing. It also argues that local policy and management agency vis-à-vis financial sector firms is critical to achieve SNG governance tasks in the face of decentralized governance and growing local service pressures. This chapter defines the key terminology of information problems, information institutions, and information resolution. It situates the focus on SNGs, and more narrowly on policy makers at the city level, that are embedded within the national contexts and financial markets. Finally, the chapter identifies the book’s contributions and details the organization of the book’s remaining chapters.
Information Resolution and Subnational Capital Markets, 2021
This book argues that capital markets can be an important source of financing for subnational gov... more This book argues that capital markets can be an important source of financing for subnational governments across the globe as they face decentralization of governance systems and increased demand for infrastructure at the local level. The central argument is that information resolution at both the national-level and the city-level is critical for the success of subnational capital markets. Furthermore, the chapter argues that subnational governments can and must become competent actors with regards to both top-down (national to local governments) and outside-in (financial sector firms to local governments) transactions and pressures. This chapter presents city policymakers with options for capital market access when both system credit contractibility and underlying credit quality vary by offering a typology of alternatives for capital financing. The chapter recommends policies that establish contractibility and credit quality assessment mechanisms and concludes with recommendations ...
Information Resolution and Subnational Capital Markets, 2021
This chapter probes the informational content of city credit ratings: what the credit ratings are... more This chapter probes the informational content of city credit ratings: what the credit ratings are, why city policymakers should care about credit ratings, and how city policymakers may evaluate credit ratings and make use of their informational content. By explicitly showcasing 12 cities from different contexts, this chapter conducts a comparative evaluation of core credit quality fundamentals for these cases. This analysis looks at the economic, fiscal, debt and financial management, and governance factors that policymakers may leverage to proactively manage the city’s underlying credit quality. It asks: How can policymakers manage city credit fundamentals to leverage access to capital market options? What are the elements of credit quality information that city policymakers may signal? What can city policymakers do to improve their agency? The results give tools to city policymakers to announce their market readiness, regardless of, and perhaps even undeterred by, the context of g...
Information Resolution and Subnational Capital Markets, 2021
Chapter 2 develops the theoretical base for why and how information resolution is expected to rel... more Chapter 2 develops the theoretical base for why and how information resolution is expected to relate to subnational government capital market borrowing by reviewing and extending the corporate finance literature. Based on theories of information, it argues that although countries must have a certain level of maturity along economic, financial and market, political, and legal institutions before successfully managing a well-functioning capital market, the crowning factor behind an efficient subnational government credit market, beyond the fundamental dimensions of institutional maturity, is credit contractibility in the system and tools of information certification and monitoring available to subnational governments. This chapter details how information problems manifest in credit contractibility, reviews how information relates to capital finance, and applies theories of capital markets to subnational government borrowing, debt size, and debt composition. It discusses how informatio...
This book theorizes that information is a critical factor for subnational government (SNG) capita... more This book theorizes that information is a critical factor for subnational government (SNG) capital market formation and development. It empirically tests the stated relationship between information resolution institutions and mechanisms of information resolution on SNG borrowing. Based on empirical results, analyses of underlying fundamentals of city credit quality, and the study of contexts of information resolution reforms, the book recommends policy measures for central governments, regional and local governments, and financial sector firms to build capital markets for subnational borrowing. As subnational governments across the globe, especially cities, bear increasing pressures to provide critical capital infrastructure, responsibilities for the provision of local infrastructure resulting from decentralization efforts and population demands, the need for a wider array of internal and external resources, including bond market alternatives, become a priority. With information res...
Public Budgeting & Finance, 2013
Thesis (M.U.R.P.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1995. Vita. Abstract. Inc... more Thesis (M.U.R.P.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1995. Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-89).
Abstract Thanks to the,emerging,phenomenon,of intersectoral collaboration,propelled,by new public... more Abstract Thanks to the,emerging,phenomenon,of intersectoral collaboration,propelled,by new public management and decentralization, NGOs have begun to play more critical roles in formulating and providing,various social programs,in society through,their collaboration with the public sector and other NGOs. This essay explores two dis- tinct cases that illustrate two different paths of NGOs as an,agent of intersectoral decentralization: the program,design model,and the network,design model. The pro- gram design modelis illustrated by NEWSED in Denver, Colorado (US) and the net- work design modelis illustrated by FCB in Irapuato, Guanajuato (México). This com- parative study examines,the distinct elements,of the two models,based on resource acquisition, political engagement, policy development, and economic development. The results suggest that the program,design modelhas,a comparative,advantage,in political enhancement,and economic,development,whereas,the network,design model has a com...
Handbook of Public Policy, 2006
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Papers by Christine Martell