Evaluation periods and asset prices: Myopic loss aversion at the financial marketplace

Examining myopic loss aversion (MLA [Benartzi, S., Thaler, R., 1995. Myopic loss aversion and the equity premium puzzle. Quarterly Journal of Economics 110, 73–92]) in real financial markets has several merits: in repeated situations investors may learn from each other, aggregate market prices may eliminate individual violations of expected utility, and individuals may decide differently in real situations than in laboratories. We utilize a special feature at the Tel Aviv stock exchange (TASE): occasional shifts of securities from daily to weekly trading. If investors’ decisions are influenced by trading frequency manipulation, then returns should be predictably affected. MLA results in a negative relation between risk aversion and the length of the evaluation period. Thus, the longer the evaluation period is, the lower the expected return is. This intuition also suggests reduced sensitivity to economic events in longer evaluation periods. We find strong support for MLA in the marketplace when testing expected return, as well as return sensitivity.     

The effect of investment and withdrawal horizons on myopic loss aversion

Using unique survey data, we find that a longer investment horizon (6–10 years and 11+ years) reduces the likelihood of exhibiting myopic loss aversion (MLA) compared to an investment horizon of less than 2 years. In addition, we find that investors with higher levels of assets under management (AUM) are less likely to exhibit MLA compared to the lowest AUM quartile.     

Exchange asymmetries for bads? Experimental evidence

This study provides the first incentivized test of exchange asymmetries for unpleasant items, the so-called bads. While prospect theory predicts an endowment effect for goods and bads, attention-based theories predict an endowment effect for goods, but a reverse exchange asymmetry (that is, a particularly high willingness to switch) for bads. The investigation of exchange asymmetries for bads is a key element to distinguish between the validity of loss aversion- and attention-based theories. As we find a strong endowment effect for bads, our results speak in favor of prospect theory.     

Risk preference and indirect utility in portfolio-choice problems

We consider a portfolio-choice problem with one risky and one safe asset, where the utility function exhibits decreasing absolute risk aversion (DARA). We show that the indirect utility function of the portfolio-choice problem need not exhibit DARA. However, if the (optimal) marginal propensity to invest is positive for both assets, which is true when the utility function exhibits nondecreasing relative risk aversion, then the DARA property is carried over from the direct to the indirect utility function.     

On the theory of reference-dependent preferences

A theory is proposed in which preferences are conditional on reference points. It is related to Tversky and Kahneman’s reference-dependent preference theory, but is simpler and deviates less from conventional consumer theory. Preferences conditional on any given reference point satisfy conventional assumptions. Apart from a continuity condition, the only additional restriction is to rule out cycles of pairwise choice. The theory is consistent with observations of status quo bias and related effects. Reference points are treated as subject to change during the course of trade. The implications of endogeneity of reference points for behaviour in markets are investigated.     

Monotone risk aversion

Summary. This paper defines decreasing absolute risk aversion in purely behavioral terms without any assumption of differentiability and shows that a strictly increasing and risk averse utility function with decreasing absolute risk aversion is necessarily differentiable with an absolutely continuous derivative. A risk averse utility function has decreasing absolute risk aversion if and only if it has a decreasing absolute risk aversion density, and if and only if the cumulative absolute risk aversion function is increasing and concave. This leads to a characterization of all such utility functions. Analogues of these results also hold for increasing absolute and for increasing and decreasing relative risk aversion.Received: 31 January 2003, Revised: 15 January 2004, JEL Classification Numbers: D81.The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author in his individual capacity and should not in any way be attributed to Morgan Stanley or to Lars Tyge Nielsen as a representative, officer, or employee of Morgan Stanley.     

企业年金投资的风险及其规避

投资运营是企业年金保值增值的关键环节,而有投资必有风险。本文从规避企业年金投资风险的角度,将企业年金投资风险分为三个层次：宏观经济变动引起的风险;企业年金在市场运营中产生的风险;企业年金投资运作主体引起的风险。引起投资风险的因素不同,则控制风险的措施不同。在风险识别的基础上,以创新理论为基础,从制度创新与技术创新两方面探讨了规避年金投资风险,获取较高、稳定收益的措施。     

The role of transaction costs and risk aversion when selecting between one and two regimes for portfolio models

Estimation of the inputs is the main problem when applying portfolio analysis, and Markov regime-switching models have been shown to improve these estimates. We investigate whether the use of two-regime models remains superior across a range of values of risk aversion and transaction costs, in the presence of skewness and kurtosis and no short sales. Our results for US data suggest that, due to differences in their risk preferences and transactions costs, most retail investors may prefer to use one-regime models, while investment banks may prefer to use two-regime models.     

生涯适应力与科技研发人员离职倾向：职业成长机会与传统性的作用

组织内员工生涯适应力到底会强化还是降低其离职倾向？以生涯建构理论为基础,在中国特殊组织情境下,以科技研发人员为研究对象,实证探究了生涯适应力影响科技研发人员离职倾向的内在作用机理。研究发现：生涯适应力越强的科技研发人员往往表现出越低的离职倾向;职业成长机会在生涯适应力与离职倾向间起中介作用;更传统的科技研发人员在有良好职业成长机会时,会表现出更低的离职倾向;传统性对职业成长机会在生涯适应力与科技研发人员离职倾向间的中介机制起调节作用。职业成长机会和传统性不但一定程度上回答了生涯适应力强的科技研发人员为何离职率更低,而且也为企业管理者留住生涯适应力强的科技研发人员提供了理论启示。     

Not-So-Strong Evidence for Gender Differences in Risk Taking

Based on a growing body of experimental and other studies, two recent economics survey articles claim to find “strong evidence” that women are “fundamental[ly]” more risk-averse than men. Yet, much of the literature fails to clearly distinguish between differences that hold at the individual level (categorical differences between men and women) and patterns that appear only at the aggregate level (statistically detectable differences in men's and women's distributions, such as different means). There is a resulting problem of possible misinterpretation, as well as a dearth of appropriate attention to substantive significance. Additionally, one of the two surveys suffers from problems of statistical validity, possibly due to confirmation bias. Applying appropriate, expanded statistical techniques to the same data, this study finds substantial similarity and overlap between the distributions of men and women in risk taking, and a difference in means that is not substantively large.     

Does Implied Volatility Pricing Follow the Tenets of Prospect Theory?

Abstract

Prospect theory and behavioral finance are gaining recognition as useful frameworks for the analysis of economic behaviors. Yet, behavioral finance is generally concerned with specific anomalies and individual behaviors and does not deal with market indices. To bridge this gap, the authors studied the changes in the value of implied volatility indices on several markets, relative to changes in the level of the corresponding equity indices with dividends reinvestment. We hypothesized that the relation should follow the psychological tenets of prospect theory. In accordance with this hypothesis, the authors found concavity in the gain area, convexity in the loss area, and evidence that market losses have more impact than gains on the pricing of implied volatility indices. These findings are observed in all the markets under consideration and are robust to the use of different functional forms. The parameters are in the range observed in previous laboratory studies but vary in different trading environments.     

More on stochastic index numbers

There are three major approaches used to estimate index numbers. The first is Fisher's test approach whereby indexes are judged on their ability to satisfy certain criteria. The economic theory of index numbers is the second approach and this deals with their foundations in utility theory. The third approach is a less well-known methodology, but one which is now attracting considerable attention, the stochastic approach which is a new way of viewing index numbers in which uncertainty and statistical ideas play a central role. While providing a point estimate for the index number like the other two approaches, the stochastic approach additionally provides the SE of the point estimate. This article enhances understanding of stochastic index numbers by showing that they are formally equivalent to the familiar optimal combination of forecasts with the individual prices playing the role of n forecasts of the overall rate of inflation. This leads to new analytical results on the impact of adding additional information within the stochastic approach framework. We provide two concrete examples of the sources of such additional information: (i) the quantity theory of money; and (ii) the use of quantity data in addition to price data. We also illustrate some of these theoretical results using real data.     

农户土地退出风险认知及规避能力的影响因素分析

以重庆市l 829户农户的调查数据为基础,对农户土地退出风险认知及规避能力进行分析,并运用有序Probit模型,分析了影响农户宅基地、承包地退出风险规避能力的因素及方向.结果表明:①多数农户认为土地退出风险较高,同时农户对于退出承包地较宅基地存在更大的顾虑,农户更倾向退出宅基地;另一方面,多数农户规避土地退出风险能力较弱,相比承包地,农户具有更强的宅基地退出风险规避能力.②宅基地风险规避能力来看,户主年龄、家庭有无稳定城镇住所、本村是否在进行农民新村建设、退地后能否享受高水平城镇社保对农户宅基地退出风险规避存在显著正向影响;家庭有无养殖经营对退出风险规避存在显著负向影响.③承包地风险规避能力来看,户主年龄、户主是否购买商业保险、家庭有无稳定非农收入、退地后能否及时获得就业培训与援助、退地后能否享受高水平城镇社保对农户承包地退出风险规避存在显著正向影响;家庭有无养殖经营对农户承包地退出风险规避存在显著负向影响.④影响农户宅基地退出风险规避能力的因素少于影响农户承包地退出风险规避能力的因素,同一因素也可能对农户宅基地、承包地退出风险规避能力产生不同的影响.     

Risk and risk aversion when states of nature matter

When uncertainty is associated with some intrinsically relevant states of nature, there is no reason for an agent to base his or her preferences only on probability distribution of claims. We propose a new concept of risk for state-contingent claims that, unlike the standard concept of Rothschild–Stiglitz, does not identify state-contingent claims with their probability distribution. This concept is called mean-independent risk, and we provide a simple characterization in terms of marginal utilities of (non-expected) utility functions that exhibit aversion to mean-independent risk. We study implications of aversion to mean-independent risk on agents’ choices under uncertainty. This research has been supported by the NSF under Grant SES-0099206. I have benefited from numerous conversations with Rose-Anne Dana and illuminating discussions with Tadeusz Miłosz about the theory of subgradients.     

Risk Preferences,Production Risk and Firm Heterogeneity*

A new technique is proposed for deriving the risk preference function under production risk and expected utility of profit maximization. The derivation depends on neither a specific parametric form of the utility function nor any distribution of the error term representing production risk. The proposed risk preference function is flexible enough to test different types of risk behavior and symmetry of the output distribution. Furthermore, our production risk specification allows for inputs with positive and negative marginal risk. The econometric model accommodates production risk, risk preferences and firm heterogeneity simultaneously. Norwegian salmon farming data are used as an application.     

Parimutuel contests with strategic risk-sensitive bettors

Existing models in the parimutuel betting literature typically explain betting data by either assuming a single, representative bettor with certain risk preferences or by assuming that a number of risk neutral bettors compete strategically within a game theoretic framework. We construct a theoretical framework of parimutuel markets in which we model both strategic interaction and individual bettor risk preferences, distinguishing between sophisticated insiders and recreational outsiders. We solve this model analytically for the optimal insider betting amount in a static symmetric Nash equilibrium. A new data set of 126 million individual horse race bets in New Zealand from 2006 to 2014 allows us to calibrate the model. We find that insiders (those betting $100 or more) outperform outsiders by 7.5% in terms of realized returns. The best fit of the model to the data is obtained when insiders are assumed to be risk neutral and to have an information advantage of 0.08 in probability terms. This finding provides empirical support for the common assumption of risk neutrality in strategic interaction models of parimutuel betting.     

油气勘探开发技术研发风险评价与规避

运用期权观点分析油气勘探开发技术研发风险,依据风险来源分类即技术风险、生产风险、市场风险、管理风险、财务风险与环境风险构建油气勘探开发技术研发风险评价指标体系,确定各二级风险指标的评价值,并进行规范化处理,利用前馈神经网络预测勘探开发技术研发的风险。最后结合石油企业技术研发特点提出风险回避、风险转移、风险弱化、风险控制和风险监控系统化风险规避机制。     

风险规避对闭环供应链决策的影响

构建了3种不同回收渠道(制造商回收、零售商回收和第三方回收商回收)下的闭环供应链模型,以制造商为Stackelber领导者,分析了分散化决策下的3种最优决策模型,考察了闭环供应链各参与方的风险规避程度对其定价决策和期望利润的影响,并借助数值分析对求解结果进行了验证。研究结果表明:随着风险规避程度的增大,零售商趋向于降低零售价格,回收方趋向于提高回收价格;在其他因素不变的情况下,闭环供应链各参与方的风险规避程度增大往往会导致其期望利润减少。     

Another Look at the Equity Risk Premium Puzzle

The model of Mehra and Prescott (1985, J. Econometrics, 22, 145–161) implies that reasonable coefficients of risk‐aversion of economic agents cannot explain the equity risk premium generated by financial markets. This discrepancy is hitherto regarded as a major financial puzzle. We propose an alternative model to explain the equity premium. For normally distributed returns and for returns far away from normality (but still light tailed), realistic equity risk premia do not imply puzzlingly high risk aversions. Following our approach, the ‘equity premium puzzle’ does not exist. We also consider fat‐tailed return distributions and show that Pareto tails are incompatible with constant relative risk aversion.     

Risk aversion,innovation and performance in family firms

An analysis of the effect of family governance on the relationships among risk aversion, innovation and performance is the purpose of this study. Beyond the level of risk and innovation, we are interested in analysing the relationship between them and their influence on performance in family firms. Traditionally, risk-seeking has been associated with innovation and performance. Our results confirm both components to be independent and, furthermore, show relationships with opposite signs as expected in the literature. In a sample of 500 firms, the results confirm an idiosyncratic behaviour in family firms; innovation contributes to performance to a higher extent in family firms, and at the same time, risk aversion is positively associated with performance only in non-family firms.