Essays on the Default of California Non-rated Land Secured Bonds

Anna Racheva

Date of defense: November 21, 2006

Dissertation Committee:
Randall K. Filer - City University of New York, chair
Libor Dusek - CERGE-EI
Petr Zemcik - CERGE-EI

This dissertation focuses on a specific area of local public finance, namely the non-rated land secured market in as comprised primarily of the Community Facilities District (CFD) bonds. That market has become of growing importance but has not been widely studied until now. In this dissertation we analyze the performance and default experience of that market, examine its specific characteristics and determine the major factors contributing to the default of the non-rated CFD bonds. The results we present provide important new information for assessing the credit quality of the California non-rated land secured municipal bond market and should be beneficial for investors for the better understanding and analysis of that market.