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  3. American Economic Review
  4. June 2012
  5. Credit Spreads and Business Cycle Fluctuations

American Economic Review

ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)

Credit Spreads and Business Cycle Fluctuations

  • Simon Gilchrist
  • Egon Zakrajšek
American Economic Review
vol. 102, no. 4, June 2012
(pp. 1692–1720)
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Abstract

Using micro-level data, we construct a credit spread index with considerable predictive power for future economic activity. We decompose the credit spread into a component that captures firm-specific information on expected defaults and a residual component—the excess bond premium. Shocks to the excess bond premium that are orthogonal to the current state of the economy lead to declines in economic activity and asset prices. An increase in the excess bond premium appears to reflect a reduction in the risk-bearing capacity of the financial sector, which induces a contraction in the supply of credit and a deterioration in macroeconomic conditions.

Citation

Gilchrist, Simon, and Egon Zakrajšek. 2012. "Credit Spreads and Business Cycle Fluctuations." American Economic Review, 102 (4): 1692–1720. DOI: 10.1257/aer.102.4.1692

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • E32 Business Fluctuations; Cycles
  • E44 Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
  • G12 Asset Pricing; Trading volume; Bond Interest Rates
  • G32 Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms