IMFG Paper | 2016
Can Tax Increment Financing Support Transportation Infrastructure Investment?
Murtaza Haider and Liam Donaldson
This report reviews tax increment financing (TIF) and land value capture (LVC), two alternative sources of revenue to support new infrastructure and development for which municipal funds are not readily available. It simulates a 30-year TIF implementation along the Sheppard East corridor in Toronto.
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IMFG Paper | 2016
Cities, Data, and Digital Innovation
Mark Kleinman
This paper defines the terms Big Data, Open Data, Open Government, and Smart Cities and uses two case studies – London (U.K.) and Toronto – to examine questions about using data to drive economic growth, improve the accountability of government to citizens, and offer more digitally enabled services.
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Perspectives Paper | 2016
Cost Overruns on Infrastructure Projects: Patterns, Cause, and Cures
Matti Siemiatycki
The three main explanations for cost overruns and delays are technical challenges, over-optimism, and strategic misrepresentations. This paper looks at the root of persistent cost overruns on public megaprojects, and proposes ways to fix this problem.
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Forum Paper | 2015
Requiem for an Institution: The End of the Indian Planning Commission
Richard M. Bird, Bharat Punjabi, Sanjay G. Reddy, and Mitu Sengupta
The Indian Government’s decision to dissolve the Central Planning Commission in August 2014 marks an important watershed for India’s current government. This paper examines the newly established National Institution for Transforming India Aayog and its implications for India’s development policies.
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IMFG Paper | 2015
Municipal Employee Pension Plans in Canada: An Overview
Bob Baldwin
While the financial situation of municipal employee pension plans in Canada is satisfactory overall, these plans involve significant financial risks and in some cases have experienced financial difficulties that have caused problems for municipal finances.
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IMFG Paper | 2015
A Good Crisis: Canadian Municipal Credit Conditions after the Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy
Kyle Hanniman
Why did Canadian municipal credit conditions improved so dramatically after the 2008 recession compared to other subnational governments around the world?
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IMFG Paper | 2015
How to Reform the Property Tax: Lessons from Around the World
Enid Slack and Richard M. Bird
This paper discusses why property taxes are particularly challenging to reform and suggests several ways in which efforts to reform this tax may become more successful in the future.
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Book | 2015
Is Your City Healthy? Measuring Urban Fiscal Health
Richard M. Bird and Enid Slack
In an era when all large cities are struggling to maintain balanced budgets and pay for increased services and infrastructure, Is Your City Healthy? is a timely publication that explores the elements of fiscal health, how we measure it, and why it is important.
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Globe and Mail: Sean Grisdale on the “Squandering” of Public Land Sales
June 7, 2024
CBC Online: Almos Tassonyi on Brampton’s Strategic Reserve Fund
June 4, 2024
Municipal World: Enid Slack on Municipal Finance
March 5, 2024