Endogenous Liquidity and Defaultable Bonds

S-Tier
Journal: Econometrica
Year: 2014
Volume: 82
Issue: 4
Pages: 1443-1508

Authors (2)

Zhiguo He (Stanford University) Konstantin Milbradt (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper studies the interaction between default and liquidity for corporate bonds that are traded in an over‐the‐counter secondary market with search frictions. Bargaining with dealers determines a bond's endogenous liquidity, which depends on both the firm fundamental and the time‐to‐maturity of the bond. Corporate default decisions interact with the endogenous secondary market liquidity via the rollover channel. A default‐liquidity loop arises: Assuming a relative illiquid secondary bond market in default, earlier endogenous default worsens a bond's secondary market liquidity, which amplifies equity holders' rollover losses, which in turn leads to earlier endogenous default. Besides characterizing in closed form the full interdependence between liquidity and default for credit spreads, our calibrated model can jointly match empirically observed credit spreads and liquidity measures of bonds across different rating classes.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:wly:emetrp:v:82:y:2014:i:4:p:1443-1508
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-02-02