Survey data on interest rate expectations are used to separate the forward interest rate into an expected future rate and a term premium. These components are used to test separately two competing alternative hypotheses in tests of the term structure: that the expectations hypothesis does not...

This paper consolidates and interprets the literature on the term structure, as it stands today. Definitions of rates of return, forward rates and holding returns for all time intervals are treated here in a uniform manner and their interrelations, exact or approximate, delineated. The concept...

Different approaches to quantifying the degree of capital mobility for a cross-section of currencies -- particularly saving-investment correlations and tests of real interest parity - have appeared to show a surprisingly low degree of financial market integration. We use a new data set, forward...

The term structure of interest rates is an old topic. Over the years, both the hypotheses debated and the research techniques used have changed considerably. Two fairly recent developments which distinguish current research are the widespread adoption of rational expectations and the integration...

The flattening of yield curves at long-term maturities is proven to be approximately proportional to the reciprocal of the time to maturity under general conditions. This is a consequence of the persistence of earlier forward rates in the averaging process which produces yields from forward...

In this paper, a set of tests of models of relative capital asset pricesis developed. The tests are used to examine how well the models explain maturity premiums on Government bonds, though they are perfectly general and hence could be applied to stocks or other assets. Allowance is made in the...

This paper investigates the implications of government deficits in an overlapping generations consumption loan model with longterm assets. The only asset in the economy is a real consol issued by the government and serviced by lumpsum taxes on the young. We explore here the time path of short...

This paper tests several competing models of municipal bond market equilibrium. It analyzes the influence of changes in both personal and corporate tax reforms on the yield spread between taxable and tax-exempt interest rates. The findings suggest that changes in personal income tax rates have...

This paper investigates the term structure relations implied by a two-good model in which goods are durable and the preference function of consimters may be non separable both over time and the decision variables. The parameters characterizing preferences are estimated and the implied...

This paper represents an extension and integration of recent empirical and theoretical research on default risk and taxability. The purpose of the paper is to develop and test a model of interest rate spreads which incorporates both the effect of taxes and differences in default probabilities in...