In practical portfolio choice models risk is often defined as VaR, expected short-fall, maximum loss, Omega function, etc. and is computed from simulated future scenarios of the portfolio value. It is well known that the minimization of these functions can not, in general, be performed with...

This paper develops and empirically tests a model designed to distinguish the role of real and financing frictions on firms investment, debt financing and equity financing policies. Real frictions include fixed costs of investment and adjustment costs. Financing frictions include taxes,...

We study a number of large international military con flicts since World War II where we establish a news analysis as a proxy for the estimated likelihood that the con ict will result in a war. We find that in cases when there is a pre-war phase, an increase in the war likelihood tends to...

We develop alternative models for hedging yield curve risk and test them by hedging US Treasury bond portfolios through note/bond futures. We show that traditional implementations of models based on principal component analysis, duration vectors and key rate duration lead to high exposure to...

Hedge funds offer desirable risk-return profiles; but we also find high management fees, lack of transparency and worse, very limited liquidity (they are often closed to new investors and disinvestment fees can be prohibitive). This creates an incentive to replicate the attractive features of...

We implement a long-horizon static and dynamic portfolio allocation involving a risk-free and a risky asset. This model is calibrated at a quarterly frequency for ten European countries. We also use maximum-likelihood estimates and Bayesian estimates to account for parameter uncertainty. We find...

It is well known that non-normality plays an important role in asset and risk management. However, handling a large number of assets has long been a challenge. In this paper, we present a statistical technique that extends Principal Component Analysis to higher moments such as skewness and...

Richer and healthier agents tend to hold riskier portfolios and spend proportionally less on health expenditures. Potential explanations include health and wealth effects on preferences, expected longevity or disposable total wealth. Using HRS data, we perform a structural estimation of a...

This paper introduces and analyzes an evolutionary model of a financial market with a risk-free asset. We focus on the local stability of the wealth dynamics, applying recent results on the linearization and stability of random dynamical systems (Evstigneev, Pirogov and Schenk-Hoppé...

The aim of this study is to analyze the market contagion in U.S., U.K. and Australian securitized real estate markets. First, a national analysis is realized in order to evaluate the impact of the broader domestic stock market on the real estate stock market. Second, the linkages between the...