Hedging or Market Timing? Selecting the Interest Rate Exposure of Corporate Debt
通过结合新发行债务的初始利率风险敞口与利率掉期使用情况，更准确地衡量企业选择的利率风险敞口，发现最终敞口主要由发行时的收益率曲线斜率决定，表明利率风险管理主要受投机或短视驱动，而非对冲考虑。
ABSTRACT This paper examines whether firms are hedging or timing the market when selecting the interest rate exposure of their new debt issuances. I use a more accurate measure of the interest rate exposure chosen by firms by combining the initial exposure of newly issued debt securities with their use of interest rate swaps. The results indicate that the final interest rate exposure is largely driven by the slope of the yield curve at the time the debt is issued. These results suggest that interest rate risk management practices are primarily driven by speculation or myopia, not hedging considerations.