The Journal of Finance

The Journal of Finance publishes leading research across all the major fields of finance. It is one of the most widely cited journals in academic finance, and in all of economics. Each of the six issues per year reaches over 8,000 academics, finance professionals, libraries, and government and financial institutions around the world. The journal is the official publication of The American Finance Association, the premier academic organization devoted to the study and promotion of knowledge about financial economics.

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Search results: 2.

A Portfolio Approach to Global Imbalances

Published: 04/09/2024   |   DOI: 10.1111/jofi.13333

ZHENGYANG JIANG, ROBERT J. RICHMOND, TONY ZHANG

We use a portfolio‐based framework to understand what drives the decline of the U.S. net foreign asset (NFA) position and the reversal in returns earned on the U.S. NFA (exorbitant privilege). We show that global savings gluts and monetary policies widened the U.S. NFA position, while investor demand shifts partially offset this widening. Moreover, U.S. privilege declined after 2010, in line with increasing foreign demand for U.S. equity. We also highlight a quantity dimension of the U.S. privilege: The U.S. can issue substantially more debt than other countries for a given yield increase. 


Foreign Safe Asset Demand and the Dollar Exchange Rate

Published: 02/02/2021   |   DOI: 10.1111/jofi.13003

ZHENGYANG JIANG, ARVIND KRISHNAMURTHY, HANNO LUSTIG

We develop a theory that links the U.S. dollar's valuation in FX markets to the convenience yield that foreign investors derive from holding U.S. safe assets. We show that this convenience yield can be inferred from the Treasury basis, the yield gap between U.S. government and currency‐hedged foreign government bonds. Consistent with the theory, a widening of the basis coincides with an immediate appreciation and a subsequent depreciation of the dollar. Our results lend empirical support to models that impute a special role to the United States as the world's provider of safe assets and the dollar as the world's reserve currency.