Hoover Institution (Stanford, CA) – Oliver Giesecke, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, is a recipient of the prestigious NASDAQ OMX Award, given annually by the Western Finance Association (WFA) for the best paper on asset pricing.
At the WFA’s 58th Annual Conference, which took place June 25–28, 2023, in San Francisco, California, Giesecke and his coauthors Haaris Mateen of Columbia University and Marcelo Jardim Sena of Stanford University were recognized for the paper “Local Government Debt Valuation.”
In the paper, the scholars analyze the financial conditions of local governments across the United States, finding that a large share of these jurisdictions’ balance sheets reveal a negative net worth in terms of both accounting and market value measures.
Giesecke and his colleagues conclude that the negative net worth of local governments is attributable to their accumulation of pensions and other postemployment-benefit liabilities. Notably, the authors maintain that the municipal bond market only discriminates differences in these governments’ fiscal position to a limited extent. As a solution, they suggest that the federal government or state governments provide implicit insurance to local governments that explains the pricing in the municipal bond market.
This paper is part of Giesecke’s research agenda on state and local governments’ finances, which he pursues as member of the Hoover’s State and Local Governance Initiative, directed by Senior Fellow Joshua D. Rauh. Hoover scholars of the State and Local Governance Initiative partner with lawmakers and agency officials in jurisdictions across America to generate research-based recommendations that will positively impact state and local government policies.
“I am truly honored to receive this award and want to thank my coauthors for their contributions,” said Giesecke. “I look forward to contributing with my future work to the soundness of state and local government policy and to the mission of the Hoover Institution.”
About Oliver Giesecke
Oliver Giesecke is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution. Giesecke works on topics related to public and financial economics. His recent work focuses on the interaction of state and local governments’ finances and the real economy. Previously he has worked on the transmission of monetary policy on a cross section of firms, and on the textual analysis of reports of the Federal Reserve System.
Giesecke draws on his comprehensive experience in finance, having worked in several positions in the private and public sectors, including Germany’s Federal Agency for Financial Market Stabilisation and business consultancy.
Giesecke received a PhD in finance and economics from Columbia University, a master’s in economics from the Graduate Institute in Geneva, Switzerland, and a BA from Frankfurt University, Germany.
