Search Results for: Fiscal Health

In recent years, we have seen a sharp increase in foreign demand for Canadian assets, including bonds issued by Canadian municipalities and provinces. IMFG Post-Doctoral Fellow Kyle Hanniman discussed the factors driving foreign investment in Canada's subnational bond market; the implications of these developments for municipal borrowing costs and credit spreads; and what, if anything, municipalities are doing to manage the risks and opportunities involved.
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In the second annual Toronto City Manager's Address, City Manager Joe Pennachetti discusses the City's fiscal position and the strategic directions the City must weigh in building an economically vibrant, functional, and inclusive Toronto.
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Can and should Canadian municipalities be borrowing more? If so, what measures and financing models should cities adopt to ensure additional borrowing is cost-effective and responsible?
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This paper analyzes economies of scale for two municipal services by considering how per-household municipal costs are affected by a municipality’s size. An econometric model is used to estimate costs associated with fire and police services using data for 445 municipalities in the Province of Ontario.
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Excessive borrowing by local and regional governments is an important source of macroeconomic instability in monetary unions. Credit markets often indulge this behaviour (lending too much at excessively low interest rates) if they expect national officials to bail out struggling local jurisdictions. Drawing on cross-national and Canadian data, Hanniman discussed the role and limits of fiscal federal institutions in shaping these bailout beliefs.
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Public parks and library systems across North America are experiencing fiscal distress. Short-term cost-cutting measures galvanize the community to oppose the reductions, but are there longer-term solutions to the funding problems?
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Presentation delivered by IMFG Director Enid Slack on August 22, 2012, at the International Property Tax Institute Conference in Sao Paolo.
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Presentation by IMFG Director Enid Slack on On October 4, 2012, sponsored by the Cities Centre, University of Toronto.
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