PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Sugato Chakravarty AU - Asani Sarkar TI - Trading Costs in Three U.S. Bond Markets AID - 10.3905/jfi.2003.319345 DP - 2003 Jun 30 TA - The Journal of Fixed Income PG - 39--48 VI - 13 IP - 1 4099 - https://pm-research.com/content/13/1/39.short 4100 - https://pm-research.com/content/13/1/39.full AB - Newly available transaction data are available for comparison of trading costs in the U.S. Treasury bond market with U.S. corporate and municipal bond markets. The mean bid-ask spread per $100 par value is estimated at 23 cents for municipal bonds, 21 cents for corporate bonds, and 8 cents for Treasury bonds. Maturity, trade size, and credit ratings are key determinants of the bid-ask spread. After controlling for credit risk, the bid-ask spread is not statistically different between corporate and Treasury markets but it is higher for municipal bonds relative to Treasuries.