Platform economy firms such as Uber and Airbnb have attracted attention in cities around the world, given the impact of these firms on the existing taxi industry or the rental market, but little has been written about the effects of the platform economy on municipal fiscal health. This paper estimates the regulatory cost and potential revenue opportunities of the platform economy, examining the impact of three firms in Toronto: Uber, Airbnb, and Rover.
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In the past few years, a growing numbers of urbanists, planners, technology companies, and governance experts have started to use the term “smart city.” Some define smart cities in terms of using emerging and established technologies to improve the performance of municipal systems. Others take a more expansive view that embeds these new systems in a broader vision of urban regions characterized by innovation-based economic activity, a highly educated labour force, and policy-making that leverages these new technologies to confront stubborn urban problems.
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In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, both politicians and public finance economists focused their attention on ways to control public budget deficits and debt. Around the world, detailed and precise regulations affected how governments could deal with public deficit and debt.
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As experience with decentralization has accumulated, perceptions of both the problems that often accompany decentralization and the best ways to deal with them have evolved. This book draws on experiences in developing countries to bridge the gap between the conventional textbook treatment of fiscal decentralization and the actual practice of subnational government finance.
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Fracking has revolutionized international oil and gas markets practically overnight, but its impact on local public finance and governance have largely been overlooked. While operating under federal and state constraints, the key ongoing policy question is whether and to what extent local governments can – and should – have the power to manage the industry’s effects on their communities.
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This paper explores climate finance, the provision of financing by private actors for projects intended to decrease carbon emissions or make cities more resilient to the impacts of climate change. It analyzes four climate financing tools used in other jurisdictions – green bonds, environmental impact bonds, catastrophe bonds, and green banks – and their feasibility under current Ontario regulations.
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A range of municipalities are considering or already using interlocal agreements in a variety of policy areas. Canadian municipalities with such agreements generally report high levels of satisfaction with them. Surprisingly, however, we find less cooperation between Canadian municipalities than we find in other parts of the world.
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IMFG offers two graduate fellowships in municipal finance and governance. There is one application process for both fellowships. The top two candidates will each be awarded a fellowship.
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