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Special Briefing

Special Briefing

By: Volcker Alliance & Penn IUR
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Brought to you by the Volcker Alliance and the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Urban Research, Special Briefing examines the fiscal conditions of cities, counties, and states since the arrival of COVID-19 and how they’re impacted by decisions from Washington. We bring federal, state, and local government leaders together with prominent researchers, economists, and investors to reflect on today’s most salient and critical public finance issues. Be sure to subscribe to Special Briefing to stay up to date on the world of public finance. Learn more about the Volcker Alliance at: volckeralliance.org Learn more about Penn IUR at: penniur.upenn.edu Connect with us @VolckerAlliance and @PennIUR on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn Special Briefing is published by the Volcker Alliance, as part of its Public Finance initiatives, and Penn IUR. The views expressed on this podcast are those of the panelists and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Volcker Alliance or Penn IUR. Special Briefing is made possible by funding from The Century Foundation, the Volcker Alliance, and members of the Penn IUR Advisory Board. Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Boosting Infrastructure Investment for Global Cities: Lessons from the $4 Trillion U.S. Municipal Bond Market

    Boosting Infrastructure Investment for Global Cities: Lessons from the $4 Trillion U.S. Municipal Bond Market
    Jun 2 2026
    Global cities face mounting infrastructure demands at a time when fiscal pressures, climate risks, and constrained public resources are challenging traditional financing models. Against this backdrop, the $4 trillion U.S. municipal bond market has drawn increasing international attention as a model for financing long-term public investment. For a discussion of how municipal bond markets, fiscal decentralization, and subnational governance can support infrastructure investment in global cities, Penn IUR and the Volcker Alliance convened a panel of public finance and international development experts for “Special Briefing on Boosting Infrastructure Investment for Global Cities: Lessons from the $4 Trillion U.S. Municipal Bond Market” on May 14, 2026. William Glasgall, Penn IUR Fellow and Public Finance Adviser at the Volcker Alliance, and Susan Wachter, Co-Director of Penn IUR, co-hosted the Special Briefing. The panel included: • Emily S. Brock, Director, Federal Liaison Center, Government Finance Officers Association; • Alexander Chilton, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley Fixed Income & Commodities; • Sean Dougherty, Senior Advisor at Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and leader of the Secretariat of the Network on Fiscal Relations across Levels of Government; • Pietrangelo De Biase, OECD policy analyst; and • Paul Smoke, Director at New York University’s Center on International Cooperation (CIC) and Professor of Public Finance and Planning, NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
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    55 mins
  • Special Briefing on War, Inflation, and the Impact on the Economy and State and Local Budgets

    Special Briefing on War, Inflation, and the Impact on the Economy and State and Local Budgets
    Apr 24 2026
    Economic uncertainty driven by geopolitical conflict and inflationary pressures has reshaped expectations for growth, public finance, and investment across the United States. Moderated by William Glasgall, Volcker Alliance Public Finance Adviser and Penn IUR Fellow, and Susan Wachter, Co-Director of Penn IUR, join our Special Briefing expert panel as we discuss how the war in Iran, elevated energy prices, and policy shifts are influencing economic growth and fiscal conditions for states and municipalities. Speakers include: • Natalie Cohen, President and Founder, National Municipal Research • Julia Coronado, President and Founder, MacroPolicy Perspectives LLC • Kim Norton, Mayor, Rochester, Minnesota • Brian Sigritz, Director of State Fiscal Studies, National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) • Mark Zandi, Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics NOTABLE QUOTES Zandi: “The economy's growing. It's moving forward, but it's a very fragile growth.” Zandi: “to get a recession, we’re not that far away. Oil would have to rise to about 125 bucks a barrel… That would be enough to push this fragile economy into an economic downturn.” Coronado: “When we look at the structure of hiring, as it's all health care, and beyond health care, there’s very little in the way of sectors really adding jobs. It feels like we are resting on a very narrow pillar of a lot of AI enthusiasm holding the market up.” Norton: “We are not slowing down, [even as] projects are more expensive, more complex, and they require longer to deliver.” Sigritz: “While we're not seeing significant budget shortfalls right now, what we're seeing is that budget conditionings are tightening across states.” Cohen: “The Federal Reserve recently stated that for every $1,000 of student debt, there's a 1.8% decrease in home ownership.” Zandi: “Folks in the top 20% of the income distribution account for 60% of the personal outlays.”
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Special Briefing on Transportation Opportunities & Challenges in the New Federalism

    Special Briefing on Transportation Opportunities & Challenges in the New Federalism
    Apr 2 2026
    From handing environmental reviews to states and reshuffling federal funding to navigating a looming congressional reauthorization deadline, America's transportation network stands at a critical crossroads. Moderated by William Glasgall, Volcker Alliance Public Finance Adviser and Penn IUR Fellow, and Leslie Richards, Founder and Director of the Transportation Initiative at Penn (TRIP) and Weitzman School Professor of Practice of City & Regional Planning, join our Special Briefing expert panel as we discuss the sweeping realignment of federal fiscal support for states and localities—and what it means for the future of highways, transit, safety, and railroads across the country. Speakers include: • Eryn Hurley, Chief Government Affairs Officer, National Association of Counties • Baye Larsen, Vice President/Senior Credit Officer, Moody's • Robert Poole, Director of Transportation Policy and Searle Freedom Trust Transportation Fellow, Reason Foundation • Naomi Renek, Renek LLC, former Senior Advisor, NY MTA • Lauren Schapker, Vice President of Legislative Affairs, American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) NOTABLE QUOTES Renek: "Traditionally, there was a common understanding that improved mobility is a public good. Anything that goes into transportation, operational safety, infrastructure, reduced pollution… Federal funding has been provided based on this very basic concept that these things are good for society." Renek: "Policies and funding programs that encourage transit, active transportation and denser land use are impactful to affordability." Larsen: "Even in the midst of turmoil and the changing federal, state, local funding relationships, our transportation issuers do have tremendous flexibility and independence that stabilizes their credit profiles." Larsen: "A rapid change in access to federal funds has caught folks by surprise, and that less predictable funding freeze is typically harder to respond to than the more gradual transitions." Hurley: "Counties are actually the single largest owner and operator of local infrastructure in the country." Hurley: "Counties and other local governments received on average 14% of federal formula transportation dollars… The counties that sometimes have the greatest infrastructure needs…have the least institutional support to access federal dollars." Schapker: "We are laser focused on finding a way to get another service transportation reauthorization bill done on time that continues this robust trajectory of investment." Schapker: “"The House and Senate are working in a real bipartisan way…any proposed transit cuts…are not going to make it across the finish line." Poole: "Congress cannot continue indefinitely bailing out the highway trust fund with borrowed money." Poole: "We really should look at the alternative of devolution—devolve the revenue and spending authority to the states and localities."
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    55 mins
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