This study examines the relationship between underwriter placement risk and market transaction prices using a sample of state general obligation bonds. We proxy underwriter placement risk using three variables: “when-issued” trades, underwriter syndicate size, and bond sale method....

This paper provides an empirical test of the demand side of Thakor's (1982) theory of bond insurance signaling, namely that the insurance premium charged by municipal bond insurers provides a signal to the market that reduces asymmetric information in the market. We test the theory for a sample...