We are honored to announce that the Municipal Finance Journal (MFJ) has joined the Chicago Journals publishing program. The journal is published in partnership with the Center for Municipal Finance at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.
Launched in 1980, MFJ is a forum for research on the issues facing practitioners in state and local finance and tax-exempt financing. Articles address the complicated interplay of legal, market, economic, and political perspectives affecting public finance, and are written using approaches from policy, law, accounting, and finance. The journal’s in-depth coverage of financing strategies for a range of institutions is read by scholars and professionals looking for the newest research in contemporary municipal finance.
"MFJ is unique in its exclusive coverage of the $4.2 trillion municipal bond market, making it well situated to grow in influence and reach as scholars gain access to expansions in data availability," said MFJ editor Justin Marlowe. "Partnering with the University of Chicago Press ensures we can reach practitioner, policymaker, and scholar audiences to engage with this research and continue our study of this important market."
MFJ joins Chicago's cohort of influential policy and economics journals that serve scholars and practitioners, including the National Tax Journal, the American Journal of Health Economics, The Journal of Clinical Ethics, the Review of Environmental Economics and Policy the Journal of Political Economy, the Journal of Labor Economics, and Tax Policy and the Economy.
"We are excited to welcome MFJ to our portfolio, and to leverage our experience publishing and promoting applied research journals," said Journals Director Ashley Towne. "There's a great opportunity to expand the journal's impact through strategies focused on increased sales and discoverability."
All MFJ issues from volume 20 (1999) to present will be available to read on this website in late 2025. Institutional subscription rates are tiered to best serve the research needs of each organization, and institutional subscribers will be provided with current KBART files.
In 2025 and 2026, the journal will publish the following issues:
Volume 45 is the official 2024 volume
March 2024 (vol. 45, no. 1): Already published
June/September 2024 (vol. 45, no. 2/3 combined): Publication in December 2025
December 2024 (vol. 45, no. 4): Publication in February 2026
Volume 46 is the official 2025 volume
March/June 2025 (vol. 46, no. 1/2 combined): Publication in April 2026
September/December 2025 (vol. 46, no. 3/4 combined): Publication in June 2026
Volume 47 is the official 2026 volume
March/June 2026 (vol. 47, no. 1/2 combined): Publication September 2026
September/December 2026 (vol. 47, no. 3/4 combined): Publication in December 2026
Institutional subscriptions in the 2026 calendar year include volume 46 (2025) and volume 47 (2026). The journal will resume its quarterly publication schedule in 2027, with volume 48 publishing four individual issues in March, June, September, and December 2027.
The University of Chicago Press publishes more than 90 scholarly journals that cover a wide range of disciplines, from the humanities and the social sciences to the life and physical sciences. In addition to working with departments and faculty of the University of Chicago, the University of Chicago Press publishes influential scholarly journals on behalf of learned and professional societies and associations, foundations, museums, and other not-for-profit organizations. All are peer-reviewed publications, with readerships that include scholars, scientists, and practitioners, as well as other interested, educated individuals.
The Center for Municipal Finance (CMF) at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy enables students and faculty to engage the major financial issues of the day facing state and local governments in the United States and around the globe. The CMF’s mission is to improve the quality of life in communities through better-informed decisions about public money. To that end, the CMF strives to be the leading source for the best research, training and outreach on states’ and localities’ taxing, spending, borrowing and investing decisions. Some of the topical and enduring issues of municipal finance include financing infrastructure, the use of municipal bonds, privatization, pension liabilities and the efficacy of reform, tax base adequacy, and more.