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Explaining the Rate Spread on Corporate Bonds

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Author Info
Edward J. Elton
Martin J. Gruber
Deepak Agrawal
Christopher Mann
Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explain the spread between spot rates on corporate and government bonds. We find that the spread can be explained in terms of three elements: (1) compensation for expected default of corporate bonds (2) compensation for state taxes since holders of corporate bonds pay state taxes while holders of government bonds do not, and (3) compensation for the additional systematic risk in corporate bond returns relative to government bond returns. The systematic nature of corporate bond return is shown by relating that part of the spread which is not due to expected default or taxes to a set of variables which have been shown to effect risk premiums in stock markets Empirical estimates of the size of each of these three components are provided in the paper. We stress the tax effects because it has been ignored in all previous studies of corporate bonds.

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Paper provided by New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business- in its series New York University, Leonard N. Stern School Finance Department Working Paper Seires with number 99-082.

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Date of creation: 24 Sep 1999
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Handle: RePEc:fth:nystfi:99-082

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Postal: U.S.A.; New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Department of Economics . 44 West 4th Street. New York, New York 10012-1126
Web page: http://w4.stern.nyu.edu/finance/
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  1. McCulloch, J Huston, 1971. "Measuring the Term Structure of Interest Rates," Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(1), pages 19-31, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Sarig, Oded & Warga, Arthur, 1989. " Some Empirical Estimates of the Risk Structure of Interest Rates," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 44(5), pages 1351-60, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1993. "Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 3-56, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Sarig, Oded & Warga, Arthur, 1989. "Bond Price Data and Bond Market Liquidity," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 24(03), pages 367-378, September. [Downloadable!]
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  8. Elton, Edwin J & Gruber, Martin J & Michaely, Roni, 1990. " The Structure of Spot Rates and Immunization," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(2), pages 629-42, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Fama, Eugene F., 1986. "Term premiums and default premiums in money markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 175-196, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Mason, Scott P. & Bhattacharya, Sudipto, 1981. "Risky debt, jump processes, and safety covenants," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 281-307, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Jarrow, Robert A & Lando, David & Turnbull, Stuart M, 1997. "A Markov Model for the Term Structure of Credit Risk Spreads," Review of Financial Studies, Oxford University Press for Society for Financial Studies, vol. 10(2), pages 481-523.
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  15. Pitts, C G C & Selby, M J P, 1983. " The Pricing of Corporate Debt: A Further Note," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 38(4), pages 1311-13, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Nelson, Charles R & Siegel, Andrew F, 1987. "Parsimonious Modeling of Yield Curves," Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 60(4), pages 473-89, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Gregory R. Duffee, 1998. "The Relation Between Treasury Yields and Corporate Bond Yield Spreads," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 53(6), pages 2225-2241, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Dahlquist, Magnus & Svensson, Lars E O, 1996. " Estimating the Term Structure of Interest Rates for Monetary Policy Analysis," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 98(2), pages 163-83, June.
  19. Edwin J. Elton & Martin J. Gruber & Christopher R. Blake, 1998. "Common Factors in Mutual Fund Returns," New York University, Leonard N. Stern School Finance Department Working Paper Seires 98-027, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business-.
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