We examine the effects of corporate and government bond purchases by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Japanese firms' credit spreads. Using a micro dataset covering 5,614 corporate bonds over the period from 1997 to 2016, we empirically show that credit spreads are explained by the risk-taking channel and the local and global supply channels, in addition to the conventional default risk channel. We quantify the effects of the BOJ's bond purchases on credit spreads through these three channels. In so doing, we emphasize that policy effects through the local and global supply channels crucially depend on the degree of risk appetite at the financial institutions.
Keywords: Credit spreads; Default risk channel; Local supply channel; Global supply channel; Risk taking channel; Monetary policy
Views expressed in the paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Bank of Japan or Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies.