Best Book in Public Budgeting and Finance Award Announced

Since his undergraduate years, Salvador Espinosa, SDSU Imperial Valley senior associate dean of academic affairs, has long been intrigued by how governments can enter capital markets to fund essential services and resources communities need to grow and maintain on the national, state and local level. 

Now, his newly co-authored book, “Information Resolution and Subnational Capital Markets,” earned the 2023 Best Book in Public Budgeting and Finance Award from the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management (ABFM). 

Alongside his former classmates from Indiana University, Temirlan Moldogaziev and Christine Martell, Espinosa gathered and analyzed data collection from more than 90 countries with the exception of the United States. The team developed key lessons and strategies for national and subnational government agencies to access capital markets and find external financial opportunities to fund services, programs or large infrastructure projects. 

The book had been in development for more than five years, where the authors, each located in a different state and time zone, met for virtual weekly meetings even during the height of the pandemic. 

“Throughout this process, we wanted to keep in mind that fiscal transparency and discipline is key for governments to access capital markets,” said Espinosa. “We were also highly aware that we had to find interesting results to produce efficient tools and recommendations. It was not an easy task.”

Espinosa, who grew up in Mexico City, said he had always been aware of the limitations of subnational government agencies to pay for basic programs or services.

“The larger scale system in subnational government agencies in many countries was not built to access capital markets,” said Espinosa. “Throughout my public affairs career, it has been rewarding because I was able to find connections of the data analysis tools I learned at Indiana University and make tangible contributions to the book and my field. I am extremely grateful for this award.”

ABFM is a section of the American Society for Public Administration whose mission is to advance the science, process, and art of public administration as it relates to budgeting and financial management. 

Espinosa holds a master’s and doctorate degrees in public affairs, with an emphasis on government finance and public policy analysis from Indiana University. He served as a Co-PI in the $3 million “Building Bridges between Community and Careers” grant to assist with recruitment efforts of students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), public health and nursing at SDSU Imperial Valley.

Since his deanship appointment in 2021, Espinosa has led institutional efforts to grow student enrollment, recruit and support faculty, and expand course offerings at SDSU Imperial Valley. He collaborates closely with faculty, staff and students to foster an inclusive academic environment, and promote research and innovation.