Working Paper
Premium Municipal Bonds and Issuer Fiscal Distress
Whitaker, Stephan D.; Ergungor, O. Emre (2016-01-04)
Economic theory suggests that bond issuers of lower credit quality or higher opacity should be more likely to issue bonds with premium coupons (higher coupon rates relative to yields at issuance). Using a comprehensive data set of municipal bonds issued between 1992 and 2012 by more than 21,000 issuers, we show that this has not been the case until the early 2000s. We examine what changed in this market to bring it into greater alignment with economic principles. We argue that the Government Accounting Standards Board?s Statement 34 that required the use of accrual accounting rules in ...
Working Papers (Old Series) , Paper 1534

Journal Article
Use of rainy day funds in Third District states
Flora, Paul R. (2011-01)
Rainy day fund is the popular name for special reserve funds employed by all but three states (Arkansas, Kansas, and Montana) to provide a more flexible response to emergencies and/or cyclical fiscal extremes. This is the primary policy tool designed specifically to help states address fiscal stresses generated by recessions. By transferring a portion of budget surpluses to their rainy day funds during years of strong economic growth and rising revenues, states can reduce the need to raise taxes and cut services during years of weak growth and declining revenues.
Research Rap Special Report , Issue Jan