Report

The case for TIPS: an examination of the costs and benefits


Abstract: Several studies have shown that, ex-post, the issuance of Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) has cost U.S. taxpayers money. We propose that evaluations of the TIPS program be more comprehensive and focus on the ex-ante costs of TIPS issuance versus nominal Treasury issuance and, especially when these costs are negligible, the more difficult-to-measure benefits of the program. Our study finds that the ex-ante costs of TIPS issuance versus nominal Treasury issuance are currently about equal and that TIPS provide meaningful benefits to investors and policymakers.

Keywords: Government securities; Treasury bonds; Inflation risk; Liquidity (Economics);

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Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Part of Series: Staff Reports

Publication Date: 2008

Number: 353