ESSAYS ON CORPORATE BOND MARKETS

Abstract

The aim of my dissertation is to provide new insights into corporate bond markets from empirical corporate finance and bond market microstructure vintage points. The first chapter introduces the topic. The second chapter (Bondholder Wealth Effects surrounding Bond Offering Announcements: Theory and Evidence) investigates how and why prices of existing bonds respond to announcements of new debt issues. The third chapter (The Wealth Effects of Dividend Announcements on Bondholders: New Evidence from the Over-the-Counter Market) examines the announcement effect of dividend changes on bondholders using the over-the-counter bond transaction data from TRACE. The fourth chapter (Pre-Trade Transparency in Over-the-Counter Markets) explores the impact of NYSE pre-trade transparency on U.S corporate bond markets where the majority of trading is happened in over-the-counter markets.