This paper shows that credit default swaps (CDS) can affect the type of debt firms issue. Firms face a trade-off between investment scale and the cost of capital measured by the credit spread. Small-scale investment is safe, fully collateralized, but earns modest profits in all states....

After more than a decade of rapid growth, the volume of outstanding credit default swaps peaked at almost $60 trillion at the end of 2007. Since then it has nearly halved, while turnover has continued to rise. The decline in volumes outstanding reflects intensified efforts to reduce counterparty...