← Search

Journal of Finance Vol. 56 No. 1 2001

Affine Term Structure Models and the Forward Premium Anomaly

David K. Backus1; Silverio Foresi2; Chris Telmer1,3

1 National Bureau of Economic Research · 2 Goldman Sachs (United States) · 3 Carnegie Mellon University

open access

Abstract

One of the most puzzling features of currency prices is the forward premium anomaly : the tendency for high interest rate currencies to appreciate. We characterize the anomaly in the context of affine models of the term structure of interest rates. In affine models, the anomaly requires either that state variables have asymmetric effects on state prices in different currencies or that nominal interest rates take on negative values with positive probability. We find the quantitative properties of either alternative to have important shortcomings.

DOI
10.1111/0022-1082.00325
Volume
56
Issue
1
Pages
279-304
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref openalex

Cite