Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management: Volume 25 Issue 2

Budgeting practices and experiences inlouisiana: From the traditional 1990s to the dramatic 2000s

Boris Morozov

The story of budgeting practices in Louisiana strongly resembles its political history. The last decade was no exception. The relatively peaceful beginning of the decade was…

The impact of the great recession on the financial management practices of state and local governments: Part II

Martin J. Luby

An historical analysis of the use of debt-related derivatives by state governments in the context of the great recession

Martin J. Luby, Robert S. Kravchuk

Debt-related financial derivative usage by state and local governments became a very salient topic over the last few years in light of the Great Recession and its impacts on the…

Jefferson County, Alabama undertook a series of risky financial maneuvers in 2003 that included issuing large amounts of variable rate and auction rate securities as well as engaging in numerous interest rate swaps in order to lower the burgeoning costs of repairing its sewer system to comply with federal regulations. These complex financial instruments, intended to lower debt service costs on the countyʼs $3 billion in outstanding sewer warrants, led the county to financial bankruptcy in the wake of the financial markets collapse. This paper explores the choice of securities by analyzing the risk of adjustable rate securities and interest rate swaps, examining the Jefferson County case in detail, and providing some lessons for future financial management within the context of unexpected events such as the current recession

Dwight V. Denison, J. Bryan Gibson

Jefferson County, Alabama undertook a series of risky financial maneuvers in 2003 that included issuing large amounts of variable rate and auction rate securities as well as…

Several popular and academic pieces of late have expressed concerns regarding the sustainability of public defined benefit pension funds. Since the onset of the Great Recession, concern has increased. In this paper recent arguments are analyzed in the context of three related data sets: panel data on public sector pensions spanning 2001-2009, historic asset return data, and business cycle data. Findings generally indicate that while public sector plans have suffered a difficult decade, current anxieties may be somewhat overwrought. Several remedial policies are investigated. Remedial policies, such as improving plan administration, altering portfolio allocations, and increasing both employee and employer contributions, are observed to be more promising than either freezing or closing the funds

Jason S. Seligman

Several popular and academic pieces of late have expressed concerns regarding the sustainability of public defined benefit pension funds. Since the onset of the Great Recession…

Understanding dodd-frankʼs reach into the financing of main street

Craig L. Johnson

In response to the financial crisis that began in 2007, United States President Barack Obama signed H.R. 4173, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, into…