When Debt Meets Public Approval: Municipal Bond Elections in San Antonio, Texas

Each year, IMFG awards two fellowships to graduate students at the University of Toronto who are undertaking doctoral or master’s level work in municipal finance and governance. Come learn more about the research of this year’s fellowship winner.

Across North America, cities are faced with hard decisions about how to pay for infrastructure. Municipal bonds are one way to raise money for long-term infrastructure investments. In several U.S states, bond approvals are put to a public referendum. This presentation looks at one such case in San Antonio, Texas. What can we learn about the politics of debt and municipal finance tools in North American cities today?

Jacqueline Peterson is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto, and the recipient of IMFG’s 2015-16 Blanche and Sandy Van Ginkel Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance. Her research interests include urban resilience, infrastructure policy, and waste management policy in Canada and the U.S.