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Scarcity effects of QE: A transaction-level analysis in the Bund market

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  • Schlepper, Kathi
  • Riordan, Ryan
  • Hofer, Heiko
  • Schrimpf, Andreas

Abstract

This paper investigates the scarcity effects of quantitative easing (QE) policies, drawing on intra-day transaction-level data for German government bonds, purchased under the Public Sector Purchase Program (PSPP) of the ECB/Eurosystem. This paper is the first to match high-frequency QE purchase data with high-frequency inter-dealer data. We find economically significant price impacts at high (minute-by-minute) and low (daily) frequencies, highlighting the relevance of scarcity effects in bond markets. Asset purchase policies are not without side effects, though, as the induced scarcity has an adverse impact on liquidity conditions as measured by bid-ask spreads and inter-dealer order book depth. We further show that the price impact varies greatly with market conditions: it is considerably higher during episodes of illiquidity and when yields are higher.

Suggested Citation

  • Schlepper, Kathi & Riordan, Ryan & Hofer, Heiko & Schrimpf, Andreas, 2017. "Scarcity effects of QE: A transaction-level analysis in the Bund market," Discussion Papers 06/2017, Deutsche Bundesbank.
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:bubdps:062017
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    Cited by:

    1. Broeders, Dirk & de Haan, Leo & Willem van den End, Jan, 2023. "How quantitative easing changes the nature of sovereign risk," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    2. Daan Steenkamp & Henk Janse van Vuuren & Rossouw van Jaarsveld & Roy Havemann, 2022. "The bond market impact of the South African Reserve Bank bond purchase programme," Working Papers 876, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    3. Blix Grimaldi, Marianna & Crosta, Alberto & Zhang, Dong, 2021. "The Liquidity of the Government Bond Market – What Impact Does Quantitative Easing Have? Evidence from Sweden," Working Paper Series 402, Sveriges Riksbank (Central Bank of Sweden).
    4. De Santis, Roberto A., 2020. "Impact of the Asset Purchase Programme on euro area government bond yields using market news," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 192-209.
    5. Breedon, Francis, 2018. "On the transactions costs of UK quantitative easing," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 347-356.
    6. Larkin, John & Anderson, PJ & Furlong, Sean, 2019. "The Irish Government Bond Market and Quantitative Easing," Quarterly Bulletin Articles, Central Bank of Ireland, pages 78-100, April.
    7. Jakl Jakub, 2019. "The True Nature of the Portfolio Balance Channel of Quantitative Easing Policy," Review of Economic Perspectives, Sciendo, vol. 19(2), pages 95-117, June.
    8. Andrew Filardo & Jouchi Nakajima, 2018. "Effectiveness of unconventional monetary policies in a low interest rate environment," BIS Working Papers 691, Bank for International Settlements.
    9. Giovanna Bua & Peter G. Dunne, 2019. "The Portfolio Rebalancing Effects of the ECB's Asset Purchase Programme," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 15(5), pages 1-46, December.
    10. Bats, Joost V. & Giuliodori, Massimo & Houben, Aerdt C.F.J., 2023. "Monetary policy effects in times of negative interest rates: What do bank stock prices tell us?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    11. Siekmann, Helmut & Wieland, Volker, 2020. "The ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court concerning the public sector purchase program: A practical way forward," IMFS Working Paper Series 140, Goethe University Frankfurt, Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability (IMFS).
    12. Mr. Fei Han & Dulani Seneviratne, 2018. "Scarcity Effects of Quantitative Easing on Market Liquidity: Evidence from the Japanese Government Bond Market," IMF Working Papers 2018/096, International Monetary Fund.
    13. Angelo Ranaldo & Benedikt Ballensiefen & Hannah Winterberg, 2020. "Monetary policy disconnect," Working Papers on Finance 2003, University of St. Gallen, School of Finance.
    14. Lemke, Wolfgang & Werner, Thomas, 2020. "Dissecting long-term Bund yields in the run-up to the ECB’s public sector purchase programme," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    15. Pelizzon, Loriana & Subrahmanyam, Marti G. & Tomio, Davide & Uno, Jun, 2018. "Central bank-driven mispricing," SAFE Working Paper Series 226, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE, revised 2018.
    16. Martijn Boermans & Viacheslav Keshkov, 2018. "The impact of the ECB asset purchases on the European bond market structure: Granular evidence on ownership concentration," DNB Working Papers 590, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    17. Hattori, Takahiro, 2020. "The impact of quantitative and qualitative easing on term structure: Evidence from micro-level data," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    18. Jan Willem van den End, 2019. "Effects of QE on sovereign bond spreads through the safe asset channel," DNB Working Papers 647, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    19. Eser, Fabian & Lemke, Wolfgang & Nyholm, Ken & Radde, Sören & Vladu, Andreea Liliana, 2019. "Tracing the impact of the ECB’s asset purchase programme on the yield curve," Working Paper Series 2293, European Central Bank.
    20. Song, Zhaogang & Zhu, Haoxiang, 2018. "Quantitative easing auctions of Treasury bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(1), pages 103-124.
    21. Farinha, Jorge Bento & Vidrago, José, 2021. "The impact of the ECB's asset purchase programme on core and peripheral sovereign yields and its transmission channels," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).
    22. Rostagno, Massimo & Altavilla, Carlo & Carboni, Giacomo & Lemke, Wolfgang & Motto, Roberto & Saint Guilhem, Arthur & Yiangou, Jonathan, 2019. "A tale of two decades: the ECB’s monetary policy at 20," Working Paper Series 2346, European Central Bank.
    23. Martijn Boermans & Robert Vermeulen, 2018. "Quantitative easing and preferred habitat investors in the euro area bond market," DNB Working Papers 586, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    24. Motto, Roberto & Özen, Kadir, 2022. "Market-stabilization QE," Working Paper Series 2640, European Central Bank.
    25. Loriana Pelizzon & Marti G. Subrahmanyam & Reiko Tobe & Jun Uno, 2018. "Scarcity and Spotlight Effects on Liquidity and Yield: Quantitative Easing in Japan," IMES Discussion Paper Series 18-E-14, Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, Bank of Japan.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Quantitative Easing; European Central Bank; Scarcity Channel; Bond Market Liquidity; High-Frequency Data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • E63 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Comparative or Joint Analysis of Fiscal and Monetary Policy; Stabilization; Treasury Policy
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • H63 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Debt; Debt Management; Sovereign Debt

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