Finance

Article March 18, 2026 The Future of Decentralization and Multilevel Governance in a Rapidly Changing World Penn IUR Scholar Paul Smoke convened scholars, practitioners, and policy leaders at New York University (NYU)’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service for a global roundtable on the future of decentralization and multilevel governance (MLG) on February 26–27, 2026. Urban Development
Article March 18, 2026 Identifying a New Approach to Triple Urban Climate Finance The Global SDSN Commission for Urban SDG Finance held its first member-only forum of 2026 in February under Chatham House Rule to discuss the latest insights from leading urban finance experts. Climate Change & Resilience State & Local Finance
Apr 17 12:00 pm Special Briefing: War, Inflation, and the Impact on the Economy and State and Local Budgets Speakers:  William Glasgall Susan Wachter Mark Zandi Natalie Cohen Julia Coronado Kim Norton Brian Sigritz State & Local Finance
March 4, 2026 How Even Mortgage Rates are Impacted by the War in the Middle East Housing
Feb 19 2026 Past Event Special Briefing on Addressing the Housing Crisis: Innovative Solutions from Across America Speakers:  William Glasgall Susan Wachter Hannah Blitzer Eric Goldywn Laurie Goodman Paul Steenhausen State & Local Finance
News January 4, 2026 Beyond zoning reform Penn IUR Faculty Fellows Ben Keys (The Wharton School) and Vincent Reina (University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design) on how the solution to the housing affordability crisis goes beyond zoning reform Housing
Podcasts December 20, 2025 Special Briefing on the Outlook for 2026: How States & Cities Will Adapt to Wrenching Change As a year marked by fiscal uncertainty and shifting federal priorities comes to a close, state and local governments are grappling with structural changes. Join William Glasgall, Penn IUR Fellow and Volcker Alliance Public Finance Adviser, and Susan Wachter, Co-Director of Penn IUR and Wharton professor, and our expert panel as we discuss how federal retrenchment, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven growth, and sharply rising municipal market borrowing market will shape state and local finances in the year ahead. Panelists include Torsten Slok, Partner and Chief Economist at Apollo Global Management; Matt Fabian, Partner at Municipal Market Analytics; and Eric Kim, Senior Director for U.S. Public Finance Ratings at Fitch Ratings. Torsten Slok Matt Fabian Eric Kim State & Local Finance
Jan 29 2026 Past Event Special Briefing: The Year Ahead for Cities Speakers:  William Glasgall Susan Wachter Mayor Janet Cowell Fitzroy Lee Sarah Parker Nicholas Samuels Matthew Stitt State & Local Finance
Article November 19, 2025 Penn IUR Leaders Advance Urban Climate, Nature Finance Ahead of COP30 Brazil In the lead-up to COP30 Brazil, Penn IUR, as Secretariat of the SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance, advanced efforts to close the urban climate and nature finance gaps in meetings across Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Belém.  Climate Change & Resilience
Announcement November 19, 2025 Penn Institute for Urban Research Releases Policy Brief on the Future of the GSEs The Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) at the University of Pennsylvania has released a new policy brief, “The Future of the GSEs: Conservatorship, Capital, and Mission, Housing
Dec 16 2025 Past Event Special Briefing on the Outlook for 2026: How States & Cities Will Adapt to Wrenching Change Speakers:  William Glasgall Susan Wachter Matt Fabian Eric Kim Torsten Slok State & Local Finance
Research Paper October 14, 2025 Enabling Environment: Current Conditions for Subnational Access to International Finance in Latin America Read the latest report from the SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance, developed with CAF, to explore potential Latin American countries to pilot the Green Cities Guarantee Fund. Eugénie L. Birch Mauricio Rodas Delfina Vildosola Luke Campo Climate Change & Resilience
Nov 20 2025 Past Event Special Briefing: AI in Government—More Efficiency but Fewer Workers? Speakers:  William Glasgall Susan Wachter Jon Hartley Megan Kilgore Howard Neukrug Leigh Palmer Thomas Sanchez State & Local Finance
Article September 30, 2025 SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance in NYC During Climate Week NYC 2025, the SDSN Global Commission pressed on with its agenda to enable subnational actors to mobilize and deploy resilient, low-carbon infrastructure through climate finance. Eugénie L. Birch Mauricio Rodas Amanda Lloyd Delfina Vildosola Climate Change & Resilience
Podcasts September 30, 2025 Special Briefing on the Muni Debt Boom: Record Borrowing Amid Budget Strains Join William Glasgall, Penn IUR Fellow and Volcker Alliance Public Finance Adviser, and Susan Wachter, Co-Director of Penn IUR and Wharton professor, and our expert panel as we address the record-shattering boom in state and local borrowing even in the face of federal spending cuts and pressure on budgets. How long the boom will continue in the face of conflicting federal, state, and local priorities will be the big question for investors and governments over the coming year. Panelists include: Matt Fabian, President, Municipal Market Analytics; Fitzroy Lee, Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Chief Economist, Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO); Vikram Rai, Portfolio Manager and Macro Trader, First New York and former Head of Municipal Markets Strategy at Wells Fargo; Sheila Weinberg, Founder and CEO, Truth in Accounting; Mark Zandi, Chief Economist, Moody's Analytics. Matt Fabian Fitzroy Lee Vikram Rai Sheila Weinberg Mark Zandi State & Local Finance
Fellow in Urban Leadership Skyla Rimple
Penn IUR Fellow in Urban Leadership
Housing
News September 12, 2025 Marketplace: The Effect of Falling Mortgage Rates Penn IUR Co-Director Susan Wachter talks with Marketplace on what falling mortgage rates represent for the economy and potential homebuyers. Housing
Faculty Fellow Patrick Harker
Rowan Distinguished Professor, Professor of Operations, Information, and Decisions, The Wharton School Director of Academic Engagement, Penn Washington
State & Local Finance
Oct 16 2025 Past Event Special Briefing: Strategies for Closing the US Infrastructure Gap Speakers:  William Glasgall Susan Wachter Leslie Richards Camila Fonseca Sarmiento Geoffrey Buswick Fatima Yousofi Hughey Newsome State & Local Finance
Sep 11 2025 Past Event Special Briefing on the Muni Debt Boom: Record Borrowing Amid Budget Strains Speakers:  William Glasgall Susan Wachter Matt Fabian Fitzroy Lee Vikram Rai Sheila Weinberg Mark Zandi State & Local Finance

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