Sovereign risk matters: endogenous default risk and the time-varying volatility of interest rate spreads

Emerging markets’ interest rate spreads display substantial time-varying volatility. We show that models with endogenous sovereign default risk à la Eaton and Gersovitz (1981) can account for such volatility, even in the absence of shocks to the second moments of the exogenous stochastic variables....

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Main Authors: de Ferra, S, Mallucci, E
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021
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author de Ferra, S
Mallucci, E
author_facet de Ferra, S
Mallucci, E
author_sort de Ferra, S
collection OXFORD
description Emerging markets’ interest rate spreads display substantial time-varying volatility. We show that models with endogenous sovereign default risk à la Eaton and Gersovitz (1981) can account for such volatility, even in the absence of shocks to the second moments of the exogenous stochastic variables. In particular, these models feature a key non-linearity that allows them to replicate the stochastic volatility of interest rate spreads and its comovement with other important economic variables. Volatility correlates positively with the level of the spreads and the trade balance, negatively with output and consumption. Hence, sovereign default models endogenize the stochastic volatility of interest rates observed in emerging market economies.
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spelling oxford-uuid:14badc51-a93f-4535-ae4b-2ab95cb1b1212023-03-15T14:50:59ZSovereign risk matters: endogenous default risk and the time-varying volatility of interest rate spreadsJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:14badc51-a93f-4535-ae4b-2ab95cb1b121EnglishSymplectic ElementsElsevier2021de Ferra, SMallucci, EEmerging markets’ interest rate spreads display substantial time-varying volatility. We show that models with endogenous sovereign default risk à la Eaton and Gersovitz (1981) can account for such volatility, even in the absence of shocks to the second moments of the exogenous stochastic variables. In particular, these models feature a key non-linearity that allows them to replicate the stochastic volatility of interest rate spreads and its comovement with other important economic variables. Volatility correlates positively with the level of the spreads and the trade balance, negatively with output and consumption. Hence, sovereign default models endogenize the stochastic volatility of interest rates observed in emerging market economies.
spellingShingle de Ferra, S
Mallucci, E
Sovereign risk matters: endogenous default risk and the time-varying volatility of interest rate spreads
title Sovereign risk matters: endogenous default risk and the time-varying volatility of interest rate spreads
title_full Sovereign risk matters: endogenous default risk and the time-varying volatility of interest rate spreads
title_fullStr Sovereign risk matters: endogenous default risk and the time-varying volatility of interest rate spreads
title_full_unstemmed Sovereign risk matters: endogenous default risk and the time-varying volatility of interest rate spreads
title_short Sovereign risk matters: endogenous default risk and the time-varying volatility of interest rate spreads
title_sort sovereign risk matters endogenous default risk and the time varying volatility of interest rate spreads
work_keys_str_mv AT deferras sovereignriskmattersendogenousdefaultriskandthetimevaryingvolatilityofinterestratespreads
AT malluccie sovereignriskmattersendogenousdefaultriskandthetimevaryingvolatilityofinterestratespreads