Index-linked bonds (ILBs) constitute a small but growing segment of the eurozone bond market. Issuers of index-linked bonds face a choice between linking to either a eurozone or a national price index. This paper examines this choice both theoretically and empirically and ends up with the following conclusions. First, ILBs linked to eurozone inflation are much less useful for diversification purposes than nationally indexed ILBs. This is hard to square with the intended use of these bonds. Second, ILBs linked to national price indices are imperfect hedges for national inflation. The latter finding is counterintuitive and arises because of monetary union.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.