The dynamics of the Italian treasury auction mechanism: a theoretical and empirical analysis

This thesis explores the various operational aspects of the Italian treasury auction mechanism and it studies the efficiency of this mechanism. Starting from a literature review, it will present the key characteristics of bond allocation, providing a description of the functioning of the issuance process. Employing historical Italian auction data, this work will then analyse the performance of the auction mechanism adopted, based on the computation of some crucial ratios. Additionally, it will try to explore the indirect effects of the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing (QE) programme on Italian treasury auctions. The aim of this thesis is to provide an overview of Italy's approach to debt issuance in the context of an increasingly intricate financial landscape.