We show that municipal bond markets began pricing sea level rise (SLR) exposure at the end of 2011, coinciding with upward revisions of SLR projections. The effect is present across maturities and is concentrated on the East and Gulf coasts, where storm risk is greatest. We apply a structural...

Migration patterns in the United States changed dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that COVID-induced migration predicts municipal bond yield spreads, particularly for lower-rated bonds and areas experiencing larger than usual population outflows. Analyzing this effect across the...

We examine recent regulation requiring US municipal governments to disclose private debt. We show that governments fail to disclose 55-80% of reportable debt events and that, conditional on disclosure, filings often omit contract details essential for bond pricing. Non-compliant issuers are also...

We study how regulation limiting ESG policies distorts financial market outcomes. In 2021 Texas enacted laws that prohibit municipalities from contracting with banks with certain ESG policies, leading to the exit of five of the largest municipal bond underwriters from the state. Issuers...

We examine the role of institutional investors in monetary policy transmission to asset markets by exploiting a discontinuous threshold in the tax treatment of municipal bonds. As bonds approach the threshold, mutual funds, the primary institutional traders in the market, dispose of the bonds at...

Using confidential loan-level data, we investigate the importance of bank loans in the debt structure of U.S. state and local governments. We show that most bank debt is closely substitutable with municipal bonds and that smaller, lower-income and less credit-worthy borrowers are more reliant on...

We examine recent regulation requiring US municipal governments to disclose private debt. We show that governments fail to disclose 55-80% of reportable debt events and that, conditional on disclosure, filings often omit contract details essential for bond pricing. Non-compliant issuers are also...

We examine the role of institutional investors in monetary policy transmission to asset markets by exploiting a discontinuous threshold in the tax treatment of municipal bonds. As bonds approach the threshold, mutual funds, the primary institutional traders in the market, dispose of the bonds at...

We examine recent regulation requiring US municipal governments to disclose private debt. We show that governments fail to disclose 55-80% of reportable debt events and that, conditional on disclosure, filings often omit contract details essential for bond pricing. Non-compliant issuers are also...