We derive discrete markov chain approximations for continuous state equilibrium term structure models. The states and transition probabilities of the markov chain are chosen effciently according to a quadrature rule as in Tauchen and Hussey (1991). Quadrature provides a simple yet method which...

The type function of an agent, in a type space, associates with each state a probability distribution on the type space. Thus, a type function can be considered as a Markov chain on the state space. A common prior for the space turns out to be a probability distribution which is invariant under...

This paper presents an analytical model of underwriting capacity and insurance market equilibrium under an asymmetric corporate tax schedule. It is shown that reinsurance markets enable risk-neutral insurers to allocate tax shields to those firms that have the greatest capacity for utilizing...

A careful examination of interest rate time series from different U.S. Treasury maturities by Wavelet Multiresolution Analysis (MRA) suggests that the first differences of the term structure of interest rate series are periodic or, at least, cyclic, non-stationary, long-term dependent, in...

We investigate whether the same finite dimensional dynamic system spans both interest rates (the yield curve) and interest rate options (the implied volatility surface). We find that the options market exhibits factors independent of the underlying yield curve. While three common factors are...

Expected inflation is a major decision factor of various economic agents. Since expected inflation is not directly observable, economists have been seeking ways of extracting market’s inflation expectations from observable variables. One of the most reliable sources of inflation expectations...

This paper contains a statistical description of the whole U.S. forward rate curve (FRC), based on data from the period 1990-1996. We find that the average deviation of the FRC from the spot rate grows as the square- root of the maturity, with a proportionality constant which is comparable to...

This paper considers a class of Heath-Jarrow-Morton (1992) term structure models, characterized by time deterministic volatilities for the instantaneous forward rate. The bias that arises from using observed futures yields as a proxy for the unobserved instantaneous forward rate is analyzed. The...