Capital Financing and Development: An Inquiry into Credit Pooling, Bank Community Development Corporations, and Public Employee Pension Funds as Potential Financing Mechanisms for Public Infrastructure

摘要

The Government Finance Research Center of the Government Finance Officers Association examines several capital-raising mechanisms used at the state and local levels for financing infrastructure and economic development--bond banks, credit pools, revolving funds and bank community development corporations. It also considers state and local employee pension systems, a major untapped source of such capital. All are sources of capital that have seen little to modest application in the area of economic development and infrastructure financing. In-depth descriptions of the financing mechanisms are presented, along with discussions of the advantages and disadvantages of their use in specific situations and numerous examples of their actual application by state and local governments. With respect to public pension funds, the study identifies various statutory constraints that apply. An Executive Summary provides the overview of the study, highlights the opportunities and impediments to the increased use of these financing techniques and suggests ways in which the Economic Development Administration can promote the effective use of these capital-raising mechanisms for economic development purposes.