Revenue Bonds as a Source of Financing the Investment Requirements of Local Authorities

Local authorities are responsible for serving needs of lheir inhabitants. They have to maintain and invest in fixed assets to perform their duty and to assure the highest quality of their services including social care system, public transport, road maintenance, electricity and water supply, etc. While choosing instruments which can be used to finance these services, local authorities should take into the consideration the level of the debt/income ratio. In Poland the debt/income ratio limit referring to local authorities’ budgets amounts 60%. In case of high indebtedness they should search for instruments which are not included in this limit. Revenue bonds meet this requirement. This paper analyzes the use of revenue bonds as a long-term source of financing municipal investments. I begin by briefly reporting the current investment situation o f local authorities in Poland showing data of their potential demand for investments. Next I review the experience in use of revenue bonds in the very innovative US market. Then I pay special attention to the problem of indebtedness of municipalities in Poland. I conclude by emphasizing that issuing of revenue bonds would have important implications for investment strategies of institutional investors and development of Polish capital market.Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 zostało dofinansowane ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej naukę