U.S. stock volatility is 33 percent lower during wartime and periods of conflict. This is true even for World Wars I … of the most surprising facts from two centuries of stock volatility data. We propose an explanation for the puzzle: the … reduces stock volatility. The sector level regressions show that defense spending predicts lower stock volatility for firms …

financial stringency from the harvest season, with the rest of the year during the period 1870-1925. Stock volatility in the … period (1870- May 1908). We also find that the volatility of the call loan rate declined nearly 70 percent in September and …

Although it has been well established that financial volatility is related to news and macroeconomic shocks, there has … consol returns since 1729 and identify a greater-than-50% decline in volatility from the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815 … volatility. Underlying political stability under Pax Britannica seems to be a more likely explanation, however …

Stock return volatility during the Great Depression has been labeled a "volatility puzzle" because the standard …, and Jones; 1990). We investigate the "volatility puzzle" using a new series of building permits, a forward-looking measure … of economic activity. Our results suggest that the volatility of building permit growth largely explains the high level …