A general model specification test of a parametric model against a nonparametric or semiparametric alternative is studied. The test statistic employs a fixed kernel, not varying by a bandwidth. This test is proved to be consistent, the asymptotic distribution is derived and shown to be...

A thorough understanding of the joint default behavior of credit-risky securities is essential for credit risk measurement as well as the valuation of multi-name credit derivatives and Collateralized Debt Obligations. In this paper we study a simple and tractable intensity-based model for...

According to the Sharpe-Lintner capital asset pricing model, expected rates of return on individual stocks differ only because of their different levels of non-diversifiable risk (beta). However, Fama/French (1992) show that the two variables size and book-to-market ratio capture the...

Political stock markets (PSM) are sometimes seen as substitutes for opinion polls. On the bases of a behavioral model, specific preconditions were drawn out under which manipulation in PSM can weaken this argument. Evidence for manipulation is reported from the data of two separate PSM during...

We consider a financial market model with a large number of interacting agents. Investors are heterogeneous in their expectations about the future evolution of an asset price process. Their current expectation is based on the previous states of their "neighbors" and on a random signal about the...