Call for Papers – 2013 Conference on
Public Pension Funds

Sponsored
by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

The
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland invites the submission of research- and
policy-oriented papers for the 2013 Conference on Public Pension Funds to be
held on November 21-22, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio. The objective of this one and
a half day conference is to highlight research and encourage a dialogue on the economic
and financial market impacts of the fiscal burden on state and local
governments resulting from underfunded public pension plans. To explore this
topic, the conference will focus on three major themes:

• The challenges
  state and local governments face in restoring balance in the funding of public
  pension plans
• The impact of
  economic conditions, financial market volatility, and low interest rates on
  public pension plan investment portfolios
• The ambiguity and
  evolution of the current legal environment regarding public pension reform

The
conference will feature research and policy sessions including both
presentations and discussion panels on related agenda topics.

Conference
Format

The
conference will bring together economists, legal scholars, subject matter
experts, and industry practitioners to discuss recent research, share insights
on emerging issues, and consider the policy dimensions stemming from the
obligations of state and local governments.

 Research Presentations – These sessions will
follow the format of an academic workshop and comprise submitted research or
white papers related to public pension plans, public finance, and public
pension legal reform.

Policy Discussions – These sessions
will provide a platform for speakers and panelists including policymakers, academics,
and industry experts to share their insights on the policy dimensions of state
and local government finance, public pension funds, and emerging legal
issues. 

Topics

We
welcome submissions of high-quality research papers on topics related to state
and local government finance, legal and operational aspects of public pension
funds, and related public policy.  A list
of possible topics includes, but is not limited to:

• Public pension
  fund plan design and funding strategies
• Political
  incentives for public pension benefit changes and funding
• Effect of GASB
  changes on incentives for public pension plan management
• Governance of public
  pension fund investment portfolios and strategies
• Strategies for
  determining assumptions for returns on public pension fund investments
• Optimal
  allocations for public pension assets (e.g. risk parity, liability matching, and
  optimal diversification)
• Risk measurement
  and management for public pension funds
• Public pension
  reform and legal liability for plan obligations
• Public employee
  contracts in Chapter 9 bankruptcy
• Implications of
  fiscal stress on municipal bond markets
• Potential impacts
  on the stability of the financial system

Paper
Submission Procedure

The
deadline for submissions is August 29, 2013.  Please send completed papers or a detailed
abstract by e-mail to: jcarlson@clev.frb.org and include
"PUBLIC PENSION CONFERENCE" in the subject line.  Final conference papers will be due on October
25, 2013.  Questions about the Call for
Papers or the 2013 Conference on Public Pension Plans can be directed to John
Carlson at jcarlson@clev.frb.org or Paula Tkac at paula.tkac@atl.frb.org.