Fiscal Health in the Era of Remote and Hybrid Work Series

The expansion of work from home (WFH) arrangements since the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced new and evolving dynamics into urban economies and municipal fiscal systems. Changes in commuting patterns, office utilization, residential location choices, and daily activity have reshaped demand for commercial and residential real estate, with implications for local tax bases, service demands, and long-term fiscal sustainability. While the scale and persistence of these shifts remain uncertain, cities and large metropolitan centers are already grappling with how remote and hybrid work may affect property values, revenues, and fiscal health. 

This series of six papers brings together empirical research and policy-oriented analysis examining the fiscal dimensions of WFH across selected cities and metropolitan areas in the United States, Canada, and Argentina. The papers explore multiple channels through which WFH may influence municipal finances, including commercial property values, downtown activity, interjurisdictional fiscal disparities, and broader urban transformations following the pandemic. Diverse methodological approaches are offered by these papers, drawing on administrative data, historical fiscal indicators, scenario analysis, and novel data sources such as cell phone mobility records. 

Several papers focus on American central cities, documenting longer-term trends in fiscal health as well as the specific fiscal impacts observed during and after the COVID-19 shock. Others examine downtown-focused scenarios in North American cities, assessing potential risks and adjustment pathways under different assumptions about office demand and urban recovery. The Buenos Aires metropolitan region is analyzed through two complementary studies that investigate post-pandemic shifts in working patterns, property markets, and the fiscal implications for the City of Buenos Aires. 

Rather than advancing a single narrative or set of conclusions, this paper series highlights the complexity and context-specific nature of WFH-related fiscal impacts. By presenting evidence from different institutional settings and stages of post-pandemic adjustment, the collection aims to inform ongoing discussions about urban fiscal resilience, land use, and public finance in an era of changing work patterns. 

Fiscal Impacts of Work-from-Home on Commercial Property Values in the United States, Luis F. Quintanilla.

The Fiscal Health of American Central Cities, 2000 and 2021, Howard Chernick and Andrew Reschovsky.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Fiscal Health of American Central Cities, Howard Chernick and Andrew Reschovsky.

Assessing the Doom Loop: Scenarios in Four North American Downtowns, Karen Chapple, Amir Forouhar, Byeonghwa Jeong, and Stephanie Ortynsky.

Post-COVID Trends in Working from Home and Property Prices: Evidence Using Cell Phone Data from the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Region, Cynthia Goytia and Pablo Sanguinetti.

Transformaciones urbanas y salud fiscal de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires en la postpandemia (in Spanish), Bernardo Díaz de Astarloa, María Victoria Boix, Nicolás Dino Ferme, Rocío Navaridas, Felipe González, Amalia Peralta, and Dalila Gómez.