The Flight-to-Liquidity Premium in U.S. Treasury Bond Prices

摘要

This article examines whether there is a flight-to-liquidity premium in Treasury bond prices by comparing them with prices of bonds issued by Refcorp, a U.S. government agency, which are guaranteed by the Treasury. It finds a large liquidity premium in Treasury bonds, which can be more than 15% of the value of some Treasury bonds. This liquidity premium is related to changes in consumer confidence, the amount of Treasury debt available to investors, and flows into equity and money market mutual funds. This suggests that the popularity of Treasury bonds directly affects their value.