van Bekkum, SjoerdGrundy, Bruce DavidVerwijmeren, Patrick2023-03-08http://hdl.handle.net/1885/286910We show that sovereign bond benchmarks are important determinants of corporate bond issuance and maturity. Sovereign bond issues that increase a country’s maximum maturity are followed by increases in the maximum maturity of corporate issues. Our results suggest that by providing benchmark rates, long-maturity government issues complement the issuance of similar-maturity corporate issues. Sovereign and corporate bond issues can also be substitutes, but we find that this substitutability requires the availability of a high-quality sovereign bond benchmark. Our findings highlight the role that sovereign debt and its maturity play in capital market developmentThis report was commisioned by University of Melbourneapplication/pdfen-AU© 2021 SSRN202110.2139/ssrn.33303912021-12-26