Working Paper: NBER ID: w12939
Authors: Markus K. Brunnermeier; Lasse Heje Pedersen
Abstract: We provide a model that links an asset's market liquidity - i.e., the ease with which it is traded - and traders' funding liquidity - i.e., the ease with which they can obtain funding. Traders provide market liquidity, and their ability to do so depends on their availability of funding. Conversely, traders' funding, i.e., their capital and the margins they are charged, depend on the assets' market liquidity. We show that, under certain conditions, margins are destabilizing and market liquidity and funding liquidity are mutually reinforcing, leading to liquidity spirals. The model explains the empirically documented features that market liquidity (i) can suddenly dry up, (ii) has commonality across securities, (iii) is related to volatility, (iv) is subject to "flight to quality", and (v) comoves with the market, and it provides new testable predictions.
Keywords: Market Liquidity; Funding Liquidity; Liquidity Spirals
JEL Codes: G12; G21; G24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Funding liquidity (E50) | Market liquidity (G19) |
| Market liquidity (G19) | Funding liquidity (E50) |
| Tight funding liquidity (E51) | Decline in market liquidity (G19) |
| Low market liquidity (G19) | Higher margins (D43) |
| Higher margins (D43) | Further constraints on funding (H61) |
| Margins increase in illiquidity (G33) | Market liquidity destabilization (E44) |
| Shocks to speculator capital (F32) | Impact on market liquidity (G19) |
| Reduction in capital (G32) | Reduced liquidity (G19) |
| Speculators' returns negatively skewed (G19) | Market conditions (D49) |