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Safe assets: a review

Author

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  • Golec, Pascal
  • Perotti, Enrico

Abstract

We survey the emerging literature on safe assets. The recent evidence on a time-varying safety premium suggests a demand for safety quite distinct from liquidity and classic money demand, offering insight on a strong segmentation between safe savings and speculative investment markets. A related theoretical literature studies the private creation of (quasi) safe assets by intermediaries, shedding new light on bank intermediation and financial stability. Novel concepts such as maturity races, information sensitivity, risk-intolerant debt and induced runs reinforce the liquidity risk externality associated with banking, and have significant implications for research on credit cycles as well as for prudential policy. JEL Classification: E41, E44, E52, G21

Suggested Citation

  • Golec, Pascal & Perotti, Enrico, 2017. "Safe assets: a review," Working Paper Series 2035, European Central Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20172035
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    1. Feng Dong & Yi Wen, 2017. "Flight to What? — Dissecting Liquidity Shortages in the Financial Crisis," Working Papers 2017-25, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    demand for safety; liquidity premium; riskless debt; safe assets; safety premium;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E41 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Demand for Money
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages

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