Asset pricing with loss aversion

The use of standard preferences for asset pricing has not been very successful in matching asset price characteristics, such as the risk-free interest rate, equity premium and the Sharpe ratio, to time series data. Behavioral finance has recently proposed more realistic preferences such as those with loss aversion. Research is starting to explore the implications of behaviorally founded preferences for asset price characteristics. Encouraged by some studies of Benartzi and Thaler [1995. Myopic loss aversion and the equity premium puzzle. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 110 (1), 73–92] and Barberis et al. [2001. Prospect theory and asset prices. Quarterly Journal of Economics CXVI (1), 1–53] we study asset pricing with loss aversion in a production economy. Here, we employ a stochastic growth model and use a stochastic version of a dynamic programming method with an adaptive grid scheme to compute the above mentioned asset price characteristics of a model with loss aversion in preferences. As our results show using loss aversion we get considerably better results than one usually obtains from pure consumption-based asset pricing models including the habit formation variant.     

Risk aversion and the elasticity of substitution in general dynamic portfolio theory: Consistent planning by forward looking, expected utility maximizing investors

Using the measure of risk aversion suggested by Kihlstrom and Mirman [Kihlstrom, R., Mirman, L., 1974. Risk aversion with many commodities. Journal of Economic Theory 8, 361–388; Kihlstrom, R., Mirman, L., 1981. Constant, increasing and decreasing risk aversion with many commodities. Review of Economic Studies 48, 271–280], we propose a dynamic consumption-savings–portfolio choice model in which the consumer-investor maximizes the expected value of a non-additively separable utility function of current and future consumption. Preferences for consumption streams are CES and the elasticity of substitution can be chosen independently of the risk aversion measure. The additively separable case is a special case. Because choices are not dynamically consistent, we follow the “consistent planning” approach of Strotz [Strotz, R., 1956. Myopia and inconsistency in dynamic utility maximization. Review of Economic Studies 23, 165–180] and also interpret our analysis from the game theoretic perspective taken by Peleg and Yaari [Peleg, B., Yaari, M., 1973. On the existence of a consistent course of action when tastes are changing. Review of Economic Studies 40, 391–401]. The equilibrium of the Lucas asset pricing model with i.i.d. consumption growth is obtained and the equity premium is shown to depend on the elasticity of substitution as well as the risk aversion measure. The nature of the dependence is examined. Our results are contrasted with those of the non-expected utility recursive approach of Epstein–Zin and Weil.     

基于实物期权法的风险投资项目估价方法——一个文献综述

本文理清了实物期权及其在风险投资项目估价中应用的发展脉络,并提出了实物期权在风险投资项目估价应用中需要发展的地方。     

CAPM as a strategic planning tool

In this paper, the use of the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) as a strategic planning tool is reviewed. The links between the CAPM and other approaches to strategic planning are noted and discussed. We conclude that the CAPM complements other types of analysis very effectively and offers management an extremely powerful analytical tool for strategic planning.     

Are regulations the answer for emerging stock markets? Evidence from the Czech Republic and Poland

Does the emergence of a stock market require a well-developed legal and/or regulatory system? Although historical work by Neal and Davis [Neal, L., & Davis, L. (2005). The evolution of the rules and regulations of the first emerging markets: The London, New York, and Paris stock exchanges, 1792–1914. Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 45, 296–311] and Stringham [Stringham, E. (2003). The extralegal development of securities trading in seventeenth century Amsterdam. Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 43, 321–344] suggests that securities markets have successfully developed with little government oversight, numerous authors [including Black, B. (2001). The legal and institutional preconditions for strong securities markets. University of California Law Angeles Law Review, 48, 781–855; Coffee, J. (1999). Privatization and corporate governance: The lessons from securities market failure. Journal of Corporation Law, 25, 1–39; Frye, T. (2000). Brokers and bureaucrats: Building market institutions in Russia. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; Glaeser, E., Johnson, S., & Shleifer, A. (2001). Coase versus the Coasians. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116, 853–899; Mlčoch, L. (2000). Restructuring of property rights: An institutional view. In L. Mlčoch et al. (Eds.), Economic and Social Changes in Czech Society After 1989. Prague: The Karolinum Press; Pistor, K. (2001). Law as a determinant for equity market development – the experience of transition economies. In Peter Murrell (Ed.), The Value of Law in Transition Economies (pp. 249–287). Ann Arbor: Michigan University Press; Stiglitz, J. (1999). Whither reform. Ten years of the transition. Keynote Address, Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics, Washington, DC, April 28–30, 1999; Zhang, X. (2006). Financial market governance in developing countries: Getting the political underpinnings right. Journal of Developing Societies, 2, 169–196] argue that the Czech Republic and other Eastern European governments need more regulation for their newly created stock markets. They maintain that the Warsaw Stock Exchange, which is seen as more regulated, has outperformed the Prague Stock Exchange which is seen as largely unregulated. Thus increased regulations are a key to increased performance. This article, however, maintains that the evidence from the Czech experience has been misinterpreted. This article provides an in depth case study of the Czech stock market and finds that (a) Czech capital markets have been hindered by government intervention from their beginning, (b) that the evidence on Poland's superior performance is not as strong as suggested, and (c) that Czech regulators seem to be unqualified, lack the proper incentives, and are unlikely to benefit the market. Under these circumstances it appears that Neal and Davis (2005:311) are correct that increased government involvement is unlikely to improve the situation.     

Two remarks on the uniqueness of equilibria in the CAPM

In the standard ‘capital asset pricing model’ (CAPM) with a riskless asset we give a sufficient condition for uniqueness. This condition is a joint restriction on the agents’ endowments and their preferences which is compatible with non-increasing absolute risk aversion and which is in particular satisfied with constant absolute risk aversion. Moreover, in the CAPM without a riskless asset we give an example for multiple equilibria even though all agents have constant absolute risk aversion.     

Tests of risk premia in linear factor models

We show that statistical inference on the risk premia in linear factor models that is based on the Fama–MacBeth (FM) and generalized least squares (GLS) two-pass risk premia estimators is misleading when the β$\beta$’s are small and/or the number of assets is large. We propose novel statistics, that are based on the maximum likelihood estimator of Gibbons [Gibbons, M., 1982. Multivariate tests of financial models: A new approach. Journal of Financial Economics 10, 3–27], which remain trustworthy in these cases. The inadequacy of the FM and GLS two-pass t$t$/Wald statistics is highlighted in a power and size comparison using quarterly portfolio returns from Lettau and Ludvigson [Lettau, M., Ludvigson, S., 2001. Resurrecting the (C)CAPM: A cross-sectional test when risk premia are time-varying. Journal of Political Economy 109, 1238–1287]. The power and size comparison shows that the FM and GLS two-pass t$t$/Wald statistics can be severely size distorted. The 95% confidence sets for the risk premia in the above-cited work that result from the novel statistics differ substantially from those that result from the FM and GLS two-pass t$t$-statistics. They show support for the human capital asset pricing model although the 95% confidence set for the risk premia on labor income growth is unbounded. The 95% confidence sets show no support for the (scaled) consumption asset pricing model, since the 95% confidence set of the risk premia on the scaled consumption growth consists of the whole real line, but do not reject it either.     

Gradual information diffusion and contrarian strategies

Various rational and behavioral models have been proposed to explain contrarian portfolio returns. In this article, I test the gradual information diffusion model of Hong and Stein [Hong, H., & Stein J. C. (1999). A unified theory of underreaction, momentum trading, and overreaction in asset markets. Journal of Finance, 54, 2143–2184]. Specifically, I study contrarian strategies based on past long-term returns and fundamental value-to-price ratios. Using ex post returns as a proxy for expected returns and size-controlled analyst coverage as a proxy for the rate of information diffusion, I show that contrarian portfolio returns decline monotonically with increasing rates of information diffusion. These results are consistent with the predictions of the Hong and Stein model. In addition, I show that analyst coverage is more important among glamour than value stocks, supporting the view that investors are more prone to decision biases when it comes to pricing hard-to-value glamour stocks for which information is relatively more ambiguous.     

Tests of asset pricing with time‐varying factor loads

This paper proposes an empirical asset pricing test based on the homogeneity of the factor risk premia across risky assets. Factor loadings are considered to be dynamic and estimated from data at higher frequencies. The factor risk premia are obtained as estimates from time series regressions applied to each risky asset. We propose Swamy‐type tests robust to the presence of generated regressors and dependence between the pricing errors to assess the homogeneity of the factor risk premia and the zero intercept hypothesis. An application to US industry portfolios shows overwhelming evidence rejecting the capital asset pricing model, and the three and five factor models developed by Fama and French (Journal of Financial Economics, 1993, 33, 3–56; Journal of Financial Economics, 2015, 116, 1–22). In particular, we reject the null hypotheses of a zero intercept, homogeneous factor risk premia across risky assets, and the joint test involving both hypotheses.     

The saving,human wealth and asset pricing nexus: Evidence from around the world

The present study examines the dynamics of the saving, human wealth and asset pricing nexus across developed and emerging economies. We introduce two equilibrium asset pricing models in an intertemporal capital asset pricing framework, including the priced factors human wealth and market portfolio in the first framework and the saving and market portfolio in the second framework. Both asset pricing frameworks consist of two-factor, four-factor and five-factor asset pricing models. We control for size and value factors in the four-factor model and size, value and momentum factors in the five-factor model. The IV-GMM estimation and GRS test results indicate that human wealth and market portfolio for the first framework and saving and market portfolio in the second framework are primary priced factors in explaining the average returns for developed economies and the aggregate level. On the contrary, both frameworks fail to yield significant results explaining the average returns for emerging economies.     

Quarterly beta forecasting: An evaluation

Ever since the inception of betas as a measure of systematic risk, the forecast error in relation to this parameter has been a major concern to both academics and practitioners in finance. In order to reduce forecast error, this paper compares a series of competing models to forecast beta. Realized measures of asset return covariance and variance are computed and applied to forecast beta, following the advances in methodology of Andersen, Bollerslev, Diebold and Wu [Andersen, T. G., Bollerslev, T., Diebold, F. X., & Wu, J. (2005). A framework for exploring the macroeconomic determinants of systematic risk. American Economic Review, 95, 398–404; and Andersen, T. G., Bollerslev, T., Diebold, F. X., & Wu, J. (2006). Realized beta: Persistence and Predictability. In T. Fomby & D. Terrell (Eds.), Advances in Econometrics, vol 20B: Econometric Analysis of Economic and Financial Times Series., JAI Press, 1–40.]. This approach is compared with the constant beta model (the industry standard) and a variant, the random walk model. It is shown that an autoregressive model with two lags produces the lowest or close to the lowest error for quarterly stock beta forecasts. In general, the AR(2) model has a mean absolute forecast error half that of the constant beta model. This reduction in forecast error is a dramatic improvement over the benchmark constant model.     

An existence theorem of intertemporal recursive utility in the presence of Lévy jumps

This paper presents an existence theorem for a class of backward stochastic integral equations. The main contribution is a generalization of Duffie and Epstein's [Duffie, D., Epstein, L., 1992. Stochastic differential utility, (Appendix C with Skiadas C.), Econometrica 60, 353–394.] existence theorem of intertemporal recursive utility to allow the information structure to be driven by a Lévy jump process. The existence theorem applies also for a more general class of utility functions, such as recursive utility with habit-formation, and can be used to prove the existence of an equilibrium asset price process as a unique solution to the stochastic Euler equation derived by Ma [Ma, C., 1993b. Valuation of Derivative Securities with Mixed Poisson–Brownian Information and Recursive Utility, McGill University, mimeo.].     

Discrete choice modeling with nonstationary panels applied to exchange rate regime choice

This paper develops a regression limit theory for discrete choice nonstationary panels with large cross section (N) and time series (T) dimensions. Some results emerging from this theory are directly applicable in the wider context of M-estimation. This includes an extension of work by Wooldridge [Wooldridge, J.M., 1994. Estimation and Inference for Dependent Processes. In: Engle, R.F., McFadden, D.L. (Eds.). Handbook of Econometrics, vol. 4, North-Holland, Amsterdam] on the limit theory of local extremum estimators to multi-indexed processes in nonlinear nonstationary panel data models.It is shown that the maximum likelihood (ML) estimator is consistent without an incidental parameters problem and has a limit theory with a fast rate of convergence N^1/2T^3/4 (in the stationary case, the rate is N^1/2T^1/2) for the regression coefficients and thresholds, and a normal limit distribution. In contrast, the limit distribution is known to be mixed normal in time series modeling, as shown in [Park, J.Y., Phillips, P.C.B., 2000, Nonstationary binary choice. Econometrica, 68, 1249–1280] (hereafter PP), and [Phillips, P.C.B., Jin, S., Hu, L., 2007. Nonstationary discrete choice: A corrigendum and addendum. Journal of Econometrics 141(2), 1115–1130] (hereafter, PJH).The approach is applied to exchange rate regime choice by monetary authorities, and we provide an analysis of the empirical phenomenon known as “fear of floating”.     

No arbitrage conditions and liquidity

We extend the fundamental theorem of asset pricing to the case of markets with liquidity risk. Our results generalize, when the probability space is finite, those obtained by Kabanov et al. [Kabanov, Y., Stricker, C., 2001. The Harrison-Pliska arbitrage pricing theorem under transaction costs. Journal of Mathematical Economics 35, 185–196; Kabanov, Y., Rásonyi, M., Stricker, C., 2002. No-arbitrage criteria for financial markets with efficient friction. Finance and Stochastics 6, 371–382; Kabanov, Y., Rásonyi, M., Stricker, C., 2003. On the closedness of sums of convex cones in L⁰$L^0$ and the robust no-arbitrage property. Finance and Stochastics] and by Schachermayer [Schachermayer, W., 2004. The fundamental theorem of asset pricing under poportional transaction costs in finite discrete time. Mathematical Finance 14 (1), 19–48] for markets with proportional transaction costs. More precisely, we restate the notions of consistent and strictly consistent price systems and prove their equivalence to corresponding no arbitrage conditions. We express these results in an analytical form in terms of the subdifferential of the so-called liquidation function. We conclude the paper with a hedging theorem.     

Estimating the structural credit risk model when equity prices are contaminated by trading noises

The transformed-data maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method for structural credit risk models developed by Duan [Duan, J.-C., 1994. Maximum likelihood estimation using price data of the derivative contract. Mathematical Finance 4, 155–167] is extended to account for the fact that observed equity prices may have been contaminated by trading noises. With the presence of trading noises, the likelihood function based on the observed equity prices can only be evaluated via some nonlinear filtering scheme. We devise a particle filtering algorithm that is practical for conducting the MLE estimation of the structural credit risk model of Merton [Merton, R.C., 1974. On the pricing of corporate debt: The risk structure of interest rates. Journal of Finance 29, 449–470]. We implement the method on the Dow Jones 30 firms and on 100 randomly selected firms, and find that ignoring trading noises can lead to significantly over-estimating the firm’s asset volatility. The estimated magnitude of trading noise is in line with the direction that a firm’s liquidity will predict based on three common liquidity proxies. A simulation study is then conducted to ascertain the performance of the estimation method.     

The link between the Shapley value and the beta factor

In this article, we provide a link between the Shapley value in cooperative game theory and the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) in finance. In particular, the Shapley value of a suitably defined cooperative game is closely related to the beta factor in the CAPM. The beta factor for any given security may be interpreted as the asset’s fairly allocated share of the market risk or as the asset’s average marginal contribution to the market risk, respectively. Other fairness properties and axioms of the Shapley value may be reinterpreted in this context to attain a deeper understanding of the beta factor and the connotation of systematic risk. Our game theoretic approach further allows for a generalisation of the CAPM with respect to arbitrary risk measures other than variance. Last but not least, we discuss the volatility of an asset’s theoretical fair assessment of risk and of its systematic risk, respectively. This result lends itself to face the challenge of an empirical investigation on real stock markets.     

On the dynamics of the Israeli–Arab arms race

This article investigates the causal relationships between the military expenditures and military burden of the four major sides of the Israeli–Arab conflict, namely, Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Syria over the period 1960–2004. We utilize both the causality test suggested by Toda and Yamamoto [Toda, H. Y., & Yamamoto, T. (1995). Statistical inference in vector autoregressions with possibly integrated processes. Journal of Econometrics, 66, 225–250] and the generalized forecast error variance decomposition method of [Pesaran, M. H., & Shin, Y. (1998). Generalized impulse response analysis in linear multivariate models. Economics Letters, 58, 17–29]. Our findings suggest weak causality that runs usually from Israel's to Arab's military spending. The strongest links are between Israel and Syria that are still in a state of enmity. No causality was detected between Israel's and Jordan's military spending.     

Testing the capital asset pricing model efficiently under elliptical symmetry: a semiparametric approach

We develop new tests of the capital asset pricing model that take account of and are valid under the assumption that the distribution generating returns is elliptically symmetric; this assumption is necessary and sufficient for the validity of the CAPM. Our test is based on semiparametric efficient estimation procedures for a seemingly unrelated regression model where the multivariate error density is elliptically symmetric, but otherwise unrestricted. The elliptical symmetry assumption allows us to avoid the curse of dimensionality problem that typically arises in multivariate semiparametric estimation procedures, because the multivariate elliptically symmetric density function can be written as a function of a scalar transformation of the observed multivariate data. The elliptically symmetric family includes a number of thick‐tailed distributions and so is potentially relevant in financial applications. Our estimated betas are lower than the OLS estimates, and our parameter estimates are much less consistent with the CAPM restrictions than the corresponding OLS estimates. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.