"The Price of Law: The Case of the Eurozone's Collective Action Clauses" by Elena Carletti, Paolo Colla et al.
 

Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

2018

Keywords

collective action clauses, sovereign yields, reputation of law

Abstract

Do markets value contract protections? And does the quality of a legal system affect such valuations? To answer these questions we exploit a unique experiment whereby, after January 1, 2013, newly issued sovereign bonds of Eurozone countries under domestic law had to include Collective Action Clauses (CACs) specifying the minimum vote needed to modify payment terms. We find that CAC bonds trade at lower yields than otherwise similar no-CAC bonds; and that the quality of the legal system matters for this differential. Hence, markets appear to see CACs as providing protection against the legal risk embedded in domestic-law sovereign bonds.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Public debts—Law and legislation, Debt relief, Government securities, Contracts, International finance--Law and legislation

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