This book presents a factor-based model of the stochastic evolution of the implied volatility surface. The model allows for the integrated and consistent pricing and hedging, risk management, and trading of equity index derivatives as well as volatility derivatives. In the first part, the book...

Due to the scarcity of reliable data, the existing literature on default risk still displays an imbalance between theoretical and empirical contributions. Consequently, the focus of this book is on empirical work. Within an intensity based modelling framework a broad range of promising...

The book offers an explanation of unemployment based on a model of wage bargaining between a trade union and an employers' association. The theoretical model emphasizes the importance of distributional fairness in wage negotiations, especially with regard to factor taxation. This is achieved by...