We study the asset pricing implications of an economy where solvency constraints are determined to efficiently deter agents from defaulting. We present a simple example for which efficient allocations and all equilibrium elements are characterized analytically. The main model produces large...

We show how to use conditioning information optimally to construct a sharper unconditional Hansen-Jagannathan (1991) bound. The approach in this paper is different from that of Gallant, Hansen and Tauchen (1990), but both approaches yield the same bound when the conditional moments are known....

We attempt to explain the overreaction of asset prices to movements in short-term interest rates, dividends, and asset supplies. The key element of our explanation is a margin constraint that traders face which limits their leverage to a fraction of the value of their assets. Traders may lever...

In this paper we analyze the theoretical implications of sorting data into groups and then running asset pricing tests within each group. We show that the way this procedure is implemented introduces a severe bias in favor of rejecting the model under consideration. By simply picking enough...

The equity premium consists of a term premium reflecting the longer maturity of equity relative to short-term bills, and a risk premium reflecting the stochastic nature of equity payoffs and the deterministic nature of payoffs on reckless bills. This paper analyzes term premia and the risk...

This paper reconsiders the determination of asset returns in a model with Kreps-Porteus generalized isoelastic preferences where returns appear governed on the basis of Euler equations, by a combination of the two most common measures of risk -- covariance with the market return and covariance...

We study the asset pricing implications of a multi-agent endowment economy where agents can default on contracts that would leave them otherwise worse off. We specialize and extend the environment studied by Kocherlakota (1995) and Kehoe and Levine (1993) to make it comparable to standard...