COVID-19′s hidden cost: Georgia taxpayers pay more for public-debt financing

Our 2020 – 2021 Magic Grant Covid Financial Crisis has published its third article on the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Georgia’s economy. This time, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution team analyzed how the pandemic has increased the financial cost of borrowing money for cities, counties, school districts, and hospitals, creating a sort of “COVID penalty”.

As Scott Trubey and Nick Thieme explain in the piece, “borrowing costs are higher than would have been expected had the pandemic not happened, […] and will likely add up to hundreds of millions of dollars statewide. That has made it more expensive for many Georgia governments to deliver vital services.”

Their article includes a detailed explanation of their methodology as well as a white paper where they include the data, the exploratory data analysis, and the model diagnostics behind their analysis. A wonderfully deep piece of data journalism.

Read the full piece on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.