Marc Plooster, a Ph.D. candidate in public finance and budgeting at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, has been awarded the prestigious Michael Curro Award for best graduate student paper in Public Budgeting & Finance by the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management (ABFM).
Plooster’s paper, “GASB 68 and the Cost of States’ Debt: The Role of Disclosure Timing and Cost-Sharing Design,” explores how the implementation of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 68—which requires governments to disclose net pension liabilities—affects the cost of state borrowing. His research investigates the significance of both the timing of financial disclosures and the structural design of pension cost-sharing in shaping investors’ responses to state debt.
“Marc’s work exemplifies the kind of rigorous, policy-relevant research that makes an impact in public finance,” said Siân Mooney, dean of the O’Neill School. “This recognition from ABFM is a testament to his analytical insight and dedication to improving public sector accountability and transparency.”
Plooster will be formally honored at a luncheon on October 24 during the 2025 ABFM Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The ABFM is a section of the American Society for Public Administration and one of the leading academic and practitioner organizations focused on public budgeting and financial management.
The Michael Curro Award is named in honor of Michael Curro, a respected scholar and practitioner in public finance. It highlights emerging voices in the field of budgeting and financial management. Plooster joins a distinguished group of past recipients, including 10 from Indiana University, whose research has shaped the future of public finance scholarship.
“I am truly grateful to the ABFM Executive Committee and the selection committee for recognizing my paper,” Plooster said. “I am honored to join the distinguished list of scholars who have received this award, many of whom are O’Neill School Ph.D. graduates, and deeply appreciative of ABFM’s support for graduate student research in public finance.”