Current Issues in Economics and Finance
Understanding Aggregate Default Rates of High Yield Bonds
May 1996 Volume 2 Number 6
JEL classification: E44, G2, G3

Authors: Jean Helwege and Paul Kleiman

What explains the wide swings in the default rate on high yield bonds in recent years? Differences in credit quality from year to year account for much of the observed variation in default rates, but economic conditions and the "age" of bonds have also played a role.

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