Publication

Wildfire Risk and Municipal Bond Yields  with Thomas R. Berry-Stölzle  

 Journal of Risk and Insurance, 93, 118--162.

Working Papers

Luxury Consumption and Municipal Bonds

Abstract: This paper incorporates a default term and a novel measure of high-net-worth individuals’ consumption into an affine model to address the muni-bond puzzle, narrowing the yield spread between long-term municipal and tax-adjusted Treasury bonds from 192.4 bps using the observed municipal bond yield to 5.7 bps with the model-implied yield. The remaining yield disparity is primarily influenced by state GDP. Interactions between state GDP with migration patterns, job opportunities, and educational attainment further reduce pricing discrepancies in the municipal bond market.

Presentations: Financial Management Association (2025), University of Guelph, The University of Iowa.

Private Sector Earnings and Public Financing Costs   [SSRN]

Presentations: Eastern Finance Association (2025), Financial Management Association (2024), Urban Economic Association (2023), The University of Iowa.

Political Polarization and Analyst Disagreement  with Amrita Nain, James Xu  [SSRN]

Presentations: 2025 Silicon Prairie Finance Conference, 2025 SFS Cavalcade North America, Eastern Finance Association, University of Texas at San Antonio, The University of Iowa.

Earnings Management in Local Governments  with Erik Lie, Tyler S. Menzer  [SSRN]

Presentations: The University of Iowa.

Work In Progress

Municipal Tax Risk and Disclosure with Stephanie Cheng and Deen Kemsley

Covenant Design in Municipal Healthcare Finance with Stephanie Cheng and Yongseok Kim

Information Covenants and Continuing Disclosure with Stephanie Cheng and Xi Lin