Prices are sticky after all

Economists have interpreted the evidence that prices change every four months as implying that sticky prices cannot be important for monetary transmission. Theory implies that this interpretation is correct if most price changes are regular, but not if a large fraction are temporary, as in the data. Since regular prices are much stickier than temporary ones, our models predict that the stickiness of the aggregate price level matches that in a standard Calvo model or a standard menu cost model in which micro-level prices change about once a year. In this sense, prices are sticky after all.     

There is a risk-return trade-off after all

This paper studies the intertemporal relation between the conditional mean and the conditional variance of the aggregate stock market return. We introduce a new estimator that forecasts monthly variance with past daily squared returns, the mixed data sampling (or MIDAS) approach. Using MIDAS, we find a significantly positive relation between risk and return in the stock market. This finding is robust in subsamples, to asymmetric specifications of the variance process and to controlling for variables associated with the business cycle. We compare the MIDAS results with tests of the intertemporal capital asset pricing model based on alternative conditional variance specifications and explain the conflicting results in the literature. Finally, we offer new insights about the dynamics of conditional variance.     

It's all in the name: Mutual fund name changes after SEC Rule 35d-1

We study how investors respond to ‘superficial’ mutual-fund name changes that occur for no fundamental reasons. We find that such name changes remain widespread even after regulation to curb potentially misleading name changes (SEC Rule 35d-1). Superficial changes are more widespread than previously studied ‘misleading’ changes that are not accompanied by corresponding portfolio adjustments reflecting the investment style suggested by the new name. Superficial changes appear to be driven by managerial incentives. Investors react to superficial changes with increased fund flows but appear to gain no benefit through improved performance or lower fees. On the contrary, name-change funds underperform as a group. Our findings highlight inefficiencies in the mutual-fund market and hold important implications for the stakeholders involved.     

Long-run PPP in a system context: No favorable evidence after all for the U.S., Germany, and Japan

In a cointegration analysis of PPP in five-variable system for Germany, Japan, and the U.S., Sideris [Sideris, D., 2006. Testing for long-run PPP in a system context: evidence for the U.S., Germany and Japan. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money 16, 143–154] reports three cointegration vectors and concludes that they are consistent with some form of PPP for all three exchange rates. The present paper reconsiders Sideris's three-country analysis with special attention to the specification of deterministic terms in the cointegration testing. In addition, the passage of time since the Sideris paper allows the data set to be extended. The present paper also applies the Johansen approach and longer data set to traditional two-country models for the same exchange rates. In no case is any evidence in favor of PPP found.