The paper undertakes a non-parametric analysis of the very high frequency movements in stock market volatility using very finely sampled data on the Samp;P VIX index compiled by the CBOE. The data suggest that stock market volatility is best described as a pure jump process without a continuous...

Motivated by the implications from a stylized self-contained general equilibrium model incorporating the effects of time-varying economic uncertainty, we show that the difference between implied and realized variation, or the variance risk premium, is able to explain a non-trivial fraction of...

We examine the relationship between volatility and past and future returns in high-frequency equity market data. Consistent with a prolonged leverage effect, we find the correlations between absolute high-frequency returns and current and past high-frequency returns to be significantly negative...

The connections between stock market volatility and returns are studied within the context of a general equilibrium framework. The framework rules out it a priori any purely statistical relationship between volatility and returns by imposing uncorrelated innovations. The main model generates a...

We examine tests for jumps based on recent asymptotic results; we interpret the tests as Hausman-type tests. Monte Carlo evidence suggests that the daily ratio z-statistic has appropriate size, good power, and good jump detection capabilities revealed by the confusion matrix comprised of jump...

We develop simulation schemes for the new classes of non-Gaussian pure jump Levy processes for stochastic volatility. We write the price and volatility processes as integrals against a vector Levy process, which then makes series approximation methods directly applicable. These methods entail...

We examine various dynamic term structure models for monthly US Treasury yields from 1964 to 2001. Of particular interest is the predictability of bond excess returns. Recent evidence indicates that using multiple forward rates can sharply predict future excess returns on bonds; the R2 of this...

Efficient Method of Moments (EMM) is used to estimate and test continuous time diffusion models for stock returns and interest rates. For stock returns, a four-state, two-factor diffusion with one state observed can account for the dynamics of the daily return on the Samp;P composite index,...

We develop a discrete-time real endowment economy featuring Epstein-Zin recursive utility and a Levy time-change subordinator, which represents a clock that connects business time to calendar time. This setup provides a convenient equilibrium framework for pricing non-Gaussian risks, where the...

Stock market volatility clusters in time, carries a risk premium, is fractionally integrated, and exhibits asymmetric leverage effects relative to returns. This paper develops a first internally consistent equilibrium based explanation for these longstanding empirical facts. The model is cast in...