We propose a novel estimator for the stochastic discount factor (SDF) in a panel-data context. Under general conditions it depends exclusively on appropriate averages of asset returns, and its computation is a direct exercise, as long as one has enough observations to our asymptotic results. We...

Recorded prices are known to diverge from their "efficient" values due to the presence of market microstructure contaminations. The microstructure noise creates a dichotomy in the model-free estimation of integrated volatility. While it is theoretically necessary to sum squared returns that are...

In this paper we consider a GARCH-in-Mean (GARCH-M) model based on the so-called z distribution. This distribution is capable of modeling moderate skewness and kurtosis typically encountered in financial return series, and the need to allow for skewness can be readily tested. We apply the new...

Many securities are, to a certain extent, subject to credit risk in one way or another. Both the financial institutions and regulators are keen to have their credit risk exposures well managed. In order to fulfill their needs, the market for credit derivatives has become one of the fast growing...

This paper examines the long-run dynamics and the cyclical structure of the US stock market using fractional integration techniques. We implement a version of the tests of Robinson (1994a), which enables one to consider unit (or fractional) roots both at the zero (long-run) and at the cyclical...

The properties and applications of the normal log-normal (NLN) mixture are considered. The moment of the NLN mixture is shown to be finite for any positive order. The expectations of exponential functions of a NLN mixture variable are also investigated. The kurtosis and skewness of the NLN...

This paper examines the estimation of parameters of a discretely sampled Markov process whose continuous-time sample paths are generated by a continuous Brownian term and a stochastic jump term, a realistic setting for many financial asset prices. In discretely sampled data, every change in the...

It is a well accepted fact that stock returns data are often contaminated by market microstructure effects, such as bid-ask spreads, liquidity ratios, turnover, and asymmetric information. This is particularly relevant when dealing with high frequency data, which are often used to compute model...

It is a well accepted fact that stock returns data are often characterized by market microstructure effects, such as bid-ask spreads, liquidity ratios, turnover and asymmetric information. This is particularly relevant when dealing with high frequency data, which are often used to compute model...

Empirical studies of economic growth across countries are abundant and rich in conclusions, some of them widely accepted. This is not the case, however, with the empirics of business cycles. Particularly, there exists little evidence explaining why some countries take more time than others...