Canadian and American federalism in capital markets: Comparative debt financing

Abstract

As China and other countries seek to decentralize the financial practices of their sub‐national governments, designing relevant institutions and rules looms as a major policy issue. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the capital market behaviour of Canadian provincial and municipal governments (PMGs), given their financing choices, and to draw relevant comparisons to American state and local government (SLG) debt financing practices. After identifying relevant elements of the federalism structure in the two countries, the paper compares the institutional rules and roles that comprise the capital acquisition behaviour of sub‐national borrowers. The paper concludes by highlighting key points of difference in this important area of fiscal federalism. Both Canada and the United States can present their market‐oriented approaches to subnational financing as a positive foreign policy force.