When Bonds Matter: Home Bias in Goods and Assets

Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas and Nicolas Coeurdacier

No 8649, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: This paper presents a model of international portfolios with real exchange rate and non financial risks that accounts for observed levels of equity home bias. A key feature is that investors can trade equities as well as domestic and foreign real bonds. Bonds matter: in equilibrium, investors structure their bond portfolio to hedge real exchange rate risk since relative bond returns are strongly correlated with real exchange rate movements. Equity home bias does not arise from the co-movements between relative stock returns and real exchange rates, but from the hedging properties of stock returns against other sources of risk, conditionally on bond returns. We estimate the optimal equity and bond portfolios implied by the model for G-7 countries and find strong empirical support for the theory. We are able to account for a significant share of the equity home bias and obtain a currency exposure of bond portfolios comparable to the data.

Keywords: Equity home bias; International portfolios; international risk sharing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F30 F41 G11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dge and nep-opm
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (37)

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Related works:
Journal Article: When bonds matter: Home bias in goods and assets (2016)
Working Paper: When bonds matter: Home bias in goods and assets (2016)
Working Paper: When bonds matter: Home bias in goods and assets (2016)
Working Paper: When Bonds Matter: Home Bias in Goods and Assets (2015)
Working Paper: When Bonds Matter: Home Bias in Goods and Assets (2015)
Working Paper: When Bonds Matter: Home Bias in Goods and Assets (2011)
Working Paper: When bonds matter: home bias in goods and assets (2009)
Working Paper: When bonds matter: home bias in goods and assets (2009)
Working Paper: When bonds matter: home bias in goods and assets (2008)
Working Paper: When Bonds Matter: Home Bias in Goods and Assets (2008)
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