From our Board Members
A window into the works and accomplishments of our remarkable Board of Trustees
Fiscal Policies for a Low -Carbon Economy
Report by Willi Semmler, João Paulo Braga, Andreas Lichtenberger,
MariemeToure, and Erin Hayde
Climate disasters are occurring with ever higher frequency, threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions of people worldwide. Climate risks not only cause sudden economic and social destruction, but can push countries onto a lower-growth path characterized by greater financial instability, fiscal constraints, and poverty traps. This is especially true for more vulnerable developing countries, many of which have been hardest hit by the economic impacts of COVID-19.
In responding to the threats of global warming and climate risks, governments must use a full suite of tools. Fiscal policy can play an essential role. This report makes an important contribution to our understanding of which fiscal policies work best and can be a guide to policy makers as they consider the most effective ways to achieve a low-carbon future. The report finds clear evidence that green bonds can support carbon taxation by acting as a bridge financing instrument, smoothing the path toward a low-carbon transition and overcoming financial market practitioners’ and governments’ short-termism…
Can Diaspora Bonds Supercharge Development Investment?
Article by Aleksandr V. Gevorkyan
Over the past two decades one of the most intriguing ideas in development finance has been the proposal that developing nations can raise substantial funds from their expatriate communities by creating diaspora bonds. Recently, the economic fallout from the COVID-19 public-health crisis and subsequent sudden exit of foreign capital from emerging markets have reignited interest in the search for alternative development funding. Raising funds from diasporas via the bond, a fixed-income financial instrument, is high on the list again…
A Georgist perspective for addressing San Francisco’s budget shortfalls.
To Plug Budget Hole, San Francisco Should Look to the Past
By Dr. Ibrahima Dramé and Alan Tonelson
INTRODUCTION
Although its economy and therefore budget situation have brightened faster than expected since the worst of the Covid 19 pandemic, and the new American Rescue Act will actually wipe out most of its short-term deficit, like most American states and cities, San Francisco’s fiscal challenges are far from over. Indeed, without major policy changes, the city can expect a future dominated by bad financial choices for controlling its chronic budget shortfalls: broad-brush growth-killing tax hikes, deep services cuts, or some combination of both. Just as important, the resulting vise will do little more than keep San Francisco running in place. Most hopes for addressing pressing unmet needs will be squeezed out…
More from our Board of Trustees
Alan Tonelson
Aleksandr V. Gevorkyan
Edward Harrison
Edward J. Nell
James Cusick
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