We evaluate biodiversity in a real options framework, when the resources in use are substitutable. We examine optimal conservation decisions given that a biodiversity loss is irreversible and that future use values are uncertain. While species substitutability is generally believed to reduce the...

His paper proposes a new wealth-dependent utility function for the inter-temporal consumption and portfolio problem, in which the subsistance (bliss) consumption level is a function of wealth. Ratchet effects obtain when higher wealth increases the subsistance consumption level; blasé behavior...

This paper studies the conditions for aggregation, portfolio separation and effective completeness of competitive allocations in general equilibrium models with incomplete markets in which agents have general preference and endowment distributions. We show that these properties are distinct....

Latin America has a rich history of financial crises. However, it was relatively unharmed by the 2007-2009 Global Financial Crisis (GFC). This paper investigates why, and in particular the role of commodity prices and its institutional framework - in line with the fourth generation financial...

This paper extends the use of Rao (1982b)'s Quadratic Entropy (RQE) to modern portfolio theory. It argues that the RQE of a portfolio is a valid, exible and unifying approach to measuring portfolio diversification. The paper demonstrates that portfolio's RQE can encompass most existing measures,...

Although the market for Canadian paintings is now of substantial magnitude, with several works having recently sold for well over a million dollars, it remains true that with very few exceptions, the works of Canadian painters are bought and sold only in Canada and held only by Canadian...

We show that using data which are properly available in real time when assessing the sensitivity of asset prices to economic news leads to different empirical findings that when data availability and timing issues are ignored. We do this by focusing on a particular example, namely Chen, Roll and...

This paper provides (i) new results on the structure of optimal portfolios, (ii) economic insights on the behavior of the hedging components and (iii) an analysis of simulation-based numerical methods. The core of our approach relies on closed form solutions for Melliavin derivatives of...

We consider three sets of phenomena that feature prominently and separately in the financial economics literature: conditional mean dependence (or lack thereof) in asset returns, dependence (and hence forecastability) in asset return signs with implications for market timing, and dependence (and...

This paper is the first to present evidence on the magnitude of derivative use by mutual funds. Using a unique data set of detailed balance sheet information on open-end mutual funds, we characterize the nature of derivative use by these funds. Most mutual funds using derivatives do so to a very...