We study the interaction between tax advantages for municipal bonds and the market structure of auctions for these bonds. We show that this interaction can limit a bidder's ability to extract information rents and is a crucial determinant of state and local governments' borrowing costs....

We study how regulation limiting ESG policies distorts financial market outcomes. In 2021 Texas enacted laws that prohibit municipalities from contracting with banks with certain ESG policies, leading to the exit of five of the largest municipal bond underwriters from the state. Issuers...

A regulation following from Dodd-Frank prohibits municipal financial advisors from simultaneously acting as municipal bond underwriters. Using a difference-in-differences approach, I test whether this reduction in advisor privileges affects financial advice and bond outcomes. Bonds with...

We study the interaction between tax advantages for municipal bonds and the market structure of auctions for these bonds. We show this interaction can limit the ability of bidders to extract information rents and is a crucial determinant of state and local governments' borrowing costs....