March 2018 issue contents
Global Factors in the Term Structure of Interest Rates

by Mirko Abbrittia, Salvatore Dell'Erbab, Antonio Morenoa and Sergio Solab

Abstract

This paper introduces unspanned global factors within a FAVAR framework in a flexible reduced-form affine term structure model. We apply our method to a panel of international yield curves and show that global factors account for more than 80 percent of term premiums in advanced economies. In particular, they tend to explain long-term dynamics in yield curves, as opposed to domestic factors which are instead more relevant for short-run movements. We uncover a key role for the third principal component of the global term structure in shaping risk-neutral rates and term premium dynamics, especially in the post-2007 period.

JEL Code: C32, E43, F41, G12.

 
Full article (PDF, 39 pages, 4465 kb)


a University of Navarra 
b International Monetary Fund