Strengthening investor protection is the legislative core of the new Securities Law.This study takes the approval of the new Securities Law as the quasi-natural experiment and constructs a difference-in-difference model to examine the impact of the rule of law building on bond credit spreads.The results find that the approval of the new Securities Law can significantly reduce the credit spreads of corporate bonds.Further analysis reveals that enhancing bond liquidity and reducing default risk are the primary mechanisms at work.The heterogeneity analysis suggests that,from the perspective of bond characteristics,when the bond financing dependence is high,the bond covenants are few,and underwriters have a poor reputation,the rule of law building is more effective in reducing corporate bond credit spreads.From the company level,such an effect is more significant in companies with low investor willingness to trade,weak investor protection,poor information disclosure quality,and a high risk of violations.This study has important implications for promoting the rule of law building in China,protecting the legitimate rights and interests of bond investors,and preventing and resolving bond default risks.
investor protectionSecurities Lawrule of law buildingcredit spreads
国家科技期刊平台
NSTL
万方数据
