BUBBLES AND FADS IN ASSET PRICES

Abstract. The article considers the possibility that asset prices might deviate from intrinsic values based on market fundamentals. Three broad categories of theory are surveyed: (a) growing bubbles (b) fads and (c) information bubbles. 'Sunspot'theories are also discussed. The paper covers both theory and evidence, and directions for future research are discussed.     

On the microstructure of price determination and information aggregation with sequential and asymmetric information arrival in an experimental asset market

Summary. Experiments were conducted on an asset with the structure of an option. The information of any individual is limited, as if only the direction of movement of the option value known for a single period without information of the value from when movement was initiated. However, if all information of all insiders were pooled, the value of the option would be known with certainty. The results are the following: (1) Information becomes aggregated in the prices as if fully informative rational expectations operated; and (2) The mechanism through which information gets into the market is captured by a path dependent process that we term The Fundamental Coordination Principle of Information Transfer in Competitive Markets. The early contracts tend to be initiated by insiders who tender limit orders. The emergence of bubbles and mirages in the markets are coincident with failures and circumstances that prevent the operation of the Fundamental Principle.The financial support of the national science foundation and the Caltech Laboratory for Experimental Economics and Political Science are gratefully acknowledged. The authors have benefited from helpful comments of David Grether, Kerry Back, Ivana Komunjer and Pete Kyle.     

Sectoral bubbles,misallocation, and endogenous growth

Stock price bubbles are often on productive assets and occur in a sector of the economy. In addition, their occurrence is often accompanied by credit booms. Incorporating these features, we provide a two-sector endogenous growth model with credit-driven stock price bubbles. Bubbles have a credit easing effect in that they relax collateral constraints and improve investment efficiency. Sectoral bubbles also have a capital reallocation effect in the sense that bubbles in a sector attract more capital to be reallocated to that sector. Their impact on economic growth depends on the interplay between these two effects. Bubbles may misallocate resources across sectors and reduce welfare.     

台湾资产价格泡沫的成因、影响及相关政策评析

如何通过相关政策控制和应对资产价格泡沫的膨胀与破裂是金融研究的热点问题。台湾股票市场曾经出现举世罕见的资产价格泡沫,为相关研究提供了很好的案例。本文深入分析台湾股市发展史上三次资产价格泡沫的成因与影响,归纳台湾当局应对股市泡沫的政策及效果,总结台湾当局干预股市泡沫时应有的立场、强度及策略。     

经济增长、汇率上升与资产泡沫——日元升值之路的启示

随着经济的持续高速增长,我国必然在相当长时期内继续面临人民币升值的压力.如何正确处理这种升值压力,在保持国内物价稳定和经济健康发展的前提下实现汇率制度的平稳改革成为目前广泛关注的焦点.本文将以日元升值过程中的经验和教训为主要着眼点,对此问题进行探讨.本文认为,升值并非造成日本经济衰退的根本原因,升值过程中产生的资产泡沫才是真正原因.随着中国经济的增长和劳动生产率的相对提高,人民币将逐渐升值,而保持货币政策的独立性、掌握人民币升值的主动权、防止资产泡沫将是今后我国汇率工作的重点.     

On the ingredients for bubble formation: Informed traders and communication

Bubbles in asset markets have been documented in numerous experiments. Most experiments in which bubbles occur feature a declining fundamental value. This feature has been criticized for being atypical of real financial markets. Here, we experimentally study other ingredients for bubble formation that are common in such markets, namely the existence of inside information and communication among traders. We find that bubbles and mirages can occur if these additional ingredients are present. In particular, the mere possibility that some traders are better informed than others can create bubbles. Surprisingly, communication turns out to be counterproductive for bubble formation.     

投资者面临泡沫的理性行为:抛售、旁观还是骑乘?

关于投资者面临泡沫时的行为,学术界存在截然不同的三种观点:抛售、旁观和骑乘。本文构建了一个仅需基本信息的、适用于一般投资者的泡沫识别模型,以1996年5月至2010年12月的数据为样本识别泡沫,在此基础上分析泡沫期之后的崩溃风险,并测算投资于泡沫期之后的超额收益,探寻当期识别到泡沫与下一期标准化的超额收益之间的关系。结果表明,崩溃与泡沫没有必然联系,投资者面临具有极端收益的泡沫时的理性行为是骑乘泡沫。     

基于West模型的房地产泡沫的实证研究--以北京、上海、深圳为例

本文简要回顾了关于房地产泡沫的研究框架,在West模型的基础上,运用房地产合理价格是租金资本化的原理,对北京、上海和深圳的房地产市场是否存在泡沫作了实证检验.结果表明:北京住宅市场、上海住宅市场以及深圳写字楼市场在样本期内的检验结果拒绝原假设,即市场存在着泡沫现象;北京写字楼市场、上海写字楼市场和深圳住宅市场检验结果为接受原假设,即不能判断市场存在泡沫现象.本文提出了一些政策建议.     

Corporate Governance and Neoclassical Economics

Abstract

Although the term “corporate governance” is relatively new in the economist’s lexicon, the issues with which it is concerned are as old as the profession itself. In this article, first I try to illustrate this, and then I trace the development of the literature, including discussions of the so-called managerial discretion literature and the principal–agent literature. Following a discussion of asset bubbles, I illustrate the tension between concerns about corporate governance and neoclassical economics by examining the literature on managerial compensation and mergers. This literature reveals a wide gap between traditional neoclassical economics and more recent developments in behavioral economics.     

The Neural Inhibition of Learning Increases Asset Market Bubbles: Experimental Evidence

The authors tested a leading theory of bubble formation, insufficient learning, in a laboratory asset market using a drug, Naltrexone, which inhibits reinforcement learning. We found that asset price bubbles in Naltrexone sessions were larger compared with placebo sessions, averaging 60% higher in amplitude and 77% larger in the deviation from fundamental value in the final 12-period trading round. There was no difference between conditions in understanding of the trading rules, overconfidence, or confusion. Participants on Naltrexone appeared unable to determine appropriate trading strategies as prices changed. The findings indicate that specific neural mechanism of reinforcement learning is involved in the formation of asset market bubbles.