Financing Economic Development

MIT OpenCourseWare 11.437 · Graduate Level

A graduate-level course in economic development finance, from private capital markets and business lending to federal programs, tax incentives, and community development institutions.

16 Modules

Graduate-level curriculum

Self-Paced

Learn on your schedule

Certificate

Earn upon completion

Open Enrollment

No prerequisites required

Semester 1

Part 1, Capital Markets & Business Finance

Capital markets → business finance → equity & debt → real estate development

9 modules · Quizzes included

Semester 2

Part 2, Tools, Federal Programs & Institutions

Public finance → tax incentives → NMTC → SBA/CDFIs → institution management

7 modules · Quizzes included

Complete Part 1 first

What You'll Learn

How private capital markets work and where they fail communities

Reading and analyzing business financial statements for lending decisions

Structuring debt and equity financing for small businesses and real estate

New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC), structure, deals, and impact

SBA 7(a), 504, and microloan programs for economic development

CDFI certification, fund management, and program design

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and Downtown Development Authorities

C-PACE commercial energy efficiency financing structures

Community Development Venture Capital and impact investing metrics

Real estate gap financing, capital stacks, and adaptive reuse deals

Section 108 HUD loan guarantees and federal credit programs

Managing a development finance institution, operations and capital

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Academic Partnership & Attribution

This course is adapted from MIT OpenCourseWare 11.437, Financing Economic Development (Fall 2016), taught by Prof. Karl Seidman at MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning. We gratefully acknowledge MIT OpenCourseWare's commitment to open education, which makes this curriculum possible. Course materials are used under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

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How to Study Each Module

For each section, read the Lecture content fully, then review the Lecture Notes for a condensed outline, work through the Worked Examples, study the Key Terms, and engage with the Discussion questions before proceeding to the quiz. This sequence mirrors the MIT classroom experience.

Also available: Parker School Accounting Program

The Parker School two-semester accounting curriculum covers financial accounting, bookkeeping, financial statements, and advanced analysis.

View Accounting Program

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