Municipal Bond Liquidity Before and After the Financial Crisis

33 Pages Posted: 26 Jan 2013

See all articles by Justin Marlowe

Justin Marlowe

University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy, Center for Municipal Finance

Date Written: January 25, 2013

Abstract

I examine how liquidity risk affects municipal bond pricing. Liquidity has become a central concern to municipal bond investors, issuers, and regulators since the recent collapse of the monoline municipal bond insurers. The results show that liquidity risk had a minimal effect on yield spreads in the period prior to the insurance collapse, but since that collapse 10-20% of a typical municipal yield spread is due to liquidity risk. These findings have implications for our understanding of the determinants of municipal yield spreads, and for contemporary public policy debates about how to improve the efficiency of the public capital markets.

Keywords: liquidity, municipal securities, fixed income, market microstructure

JEL Classification: H74, G12, G22

Suggested Citation

Marlowe, Justin, Municipal Bond Liquidity Before and After the Financial Crisis (January 25, 2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2206730 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2206730

Justin Marlowe (Contact Author)

University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy, Center for Municipal Finance ( email )

1155 East 60th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://harris.uchicago.edu/directory/justin-marlowe

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