Hedging Housing Risk in London

This paper investigates the benefits of allowing households to compensate the portfolio distortion due to their housing consumption through investments in housing price derivatives. Focusing on the London market, we show that a major loss from over-investment in housing is that households are forced to hold a very risky portfolio. However, the strong performance of the London housing market means that little is lost in terms of expected returns. Even households with limited wealth are better off owning their home rather than renting and investing in financial assets, as long as they are willing to face the financial risk involved. In this context, access to housing price derivatives would benefit most poor homeowners looking to limit their risk exposure. It would also benefit wealthier investors looking for the high returns provided by housing investments without the costs of direct ownership of properties. Comparisons with French, Swedish and U.S. data provide a broader perspective on our findings.     

Risk Aversion,Uncertain Information,and Market Efficiency

Abstract. We reexamine and extend tests of the uncertain information hypothesis (UIH) proposed by Brown, Harlow, and Tinic (1988, 1993). We find that their empirical results are sensitive to the sampling procedure employed and that their particular methodology does not sufficiently distinguish between event and nonevent periods. When the sampling procedure is modified to identify only relatively large, isolated events, the test results generally do not support the UIH. Instead, significant price shocks are consistently followed by short-lived price reversals. We observe this behavior following positive and negative events regardless of whether the event is classified as risk increasing or risk decreasing.     

Three New Real Estate Price Indices for Geneva,Switzerland

This paper develops constant-quality price indices for three categories of real estate-apartment buildings, vacant land, and condominiums—for the city of Geneva, Switzerland. We use both the hedonic and repeat sales models to estimate the price level and, in turn, the rate of price change. The general pattern of each series suggests that real estate prices in Geneva were fairly stable throughout the 1970s, increased sharply during the 1980s, but gave back some of these gains in the early 1990s. Interestingly, the sharp rise in prices in the second half of the 1980s is very similar to that found in some regions of the United States. We also consider the problem, implicit in the repeat sales method, of revisions in previously estimated price indices as additional data become available in later years.     

Subordinated Market Index Models: A Comparison

The paper compares various processes subordinated to the Wiener process tomodel the leptokurtic characteristics of index returns. Empirical analysisis performed on the Dow Jones and Nikkei 225 indexes. A good model to capturethe typical tail behaviour of these indexes turns out to be a long Studentt distributed one.     

Market based price support program: an alternative approach to large scale food procurement and distribution system

In most developing countries of the world, large scale public food procurement and distribution systems (PFDS) have become too expensive for the country governments to support from their own resources. Despite high financial and administrative costs of the programs, the degree of seasonal price stabilization and price support achieved through the activities remain quite low. Using the Bangladesh PFDS as a case study, this research indicates that considerable improvements in price support can be achieved by providing credit to the farmers immediately after the harvest. If the government procurement is reduced by 50 per cent in Bangladesh, and providing 150 per cent of the cost of running PFDS as credit, Bangladesh can improve the farmers' income and achieve better stability of cereal prices at a cost less than one-third of the current costs of the PFDS.     

股票价格均值回归理论研究综述

随机漫步理论认为股票的价格是不能预测的,许多实证检验的结果也支持了这一结论。但是,近年来均值回归理论对随机漫步理论提出了挑战。从长期来看,股票价格呈均值回归是必然的;均值回归具有不对称性;政府行为对股票的均值回归具有一定的影响。     

税收价格论对强化税收征管的现实意义

税收价格论认为税收是纳税人为消费公共品而向政府支付的“价格”,税收征纳双方在本质上是平等的交换关系。借鉴税收价格论,应当以个人为基点,从利益交换关系的角度,赋予纳税人作为交换一方应有的权利。应在整个公共部门经济的全过程中体现税收本质上的平等交换关系,并以法律的形式予以确定和保护。引进税收价格论,对提供新的税收征管思路,强化税收征管工作,具有重要的现实意义。     

金融期货价格波动限制机制探讨

金融期货价格稳定机制延缓了价格发现过程，并造成了流动性干扰，但从降低期货、现货交易总成本来讲，它还是利大于弊，因此设置价格波动限制是一种可行的政策，而且在期货、现货市场同时设定的效果最好。此外，从不同价格波动限制方式的影响来看，选择弹性涨跌幅限制可较好地发挥价格限制的好处，减小价格限制的不利影响。     

制度互补与电力市场化改革

我国电力改革选择了从发电环节的改革开始，经重组国家电力公司、实行厂网分离，到实行电价改革的渐进式策略。这一策略虽然因其速度缓慢、终端用户无法分享改革利益而备受批评，但它使社会付出了较低的“无序成本”。随着供求关系的缓解．电力产业应强化制度互补作用，尽快改变改革在发电、输电、配电、售电各个环节之间进展不平衡的状况，着力实现配电和售电分离。在售电环节引入竞争机制．探索与市场化改革相适应的监管体制和交易方式，解决电源结构不合理、电力发电输电配电效率低、负外部性等深层次问题，最终建立有效监管的电力市场．使市场在电力资源的配置上发挥更大作用。     

R&D Progress, stock price volatility, and post-announcement drift: An empirical investigation into biotech firms

I investigate the effects of R&D progress on the dynamics of stock price volatility and the post announcement drift to provide insights into whether or not and how capital markets react to corporate R&D progress in the context of the biotech industry. I find both stock price volatility and the post announcement drift decrease in R&D progress. More importantly, the decrease is proportional to the increase in the drug development success rate driven by R&D progress. Findings suggest that R&D progress conveys useful risk-relevant information, and plays an important role in explaining stock price volatility change and market anomalies.