Christopher L. Culp, Ph.D., is a Research Fellow at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise, an Adjunct Professor at both the Swiss Finance Institute and Universität Bern, a Senior Affiliate with Compass Lexecon, and Managing Director of Financial Economics Consulting, Inc.

Andria van der Merwe, Ph.D., is a Senior Vice President at Compass Lexecon and a Research Fellow at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise.

Bettina St¿rkle, [...]., is an Economist with Compass Lexecon.

Reviews the academic empirical literature on how CDSs actually work in practice, including during distressed times of market crises

Discusses of the mechanics of single-name and index CDSs

Explores the theoretical costs and benefits of CDS

Unveils a comprehensive summary of the empirical evidence on important aspects of these instruments of risk transfer

Part I: The CDS Market and Product Mechanics.- Chapter 1: Overview of CDS Products and Market Activity.- Chapter 2: Single-Name CDSs.- Chapter 3: Loan-Only CDSs.- Chapter 4: Multi-Name and Index CDSs.- Chapter 5: Asset-Backed CDSs.- Chapter 6: CDS Execution and Clearing Mechanisms.- Part II: Potential Benefits and Costs of CDSs.- Chapter 7: Potential Benefits of CDSs.- Chapter 8: Potential Costs of CDSs.- Part III: Empirical Evidence on the Benefits, Costs, and Inter-Market Relations of CDSs.- Chapter 9: The Informational Content of CDS Spreads.- Chapter 10: Implications of CDS Listings for Reference Entities and Creditors.- Chapter 11: Inter-Market Basis Relations.- Chapter 12: Inter-Connectedness and Systemic Risk.- Appendix 1: Research Methodology.- Appendix 2: Additional Tables.