This paper uses panel data and Euler equations to estimate preference specifications that are nonseparable in consumption and leisure. The econometric analysis uses panel data, and therefore it differs from existing econometric studies that use a representative agent framework. Moreover, the...

This paper analyzes a large class of processes for the short-term interest rate that are derived in a discrete-time equilibrium framework. The dynamics of interest rates and yields are driven by the dynamics of the conditional volatility of the state variable. Under appropriate parameter...

The paper investigates a two-factor affine model for the credit spreads on corporate bonds. The first factor can be interpreted as the level of the spread, and the second factor is the volatility of the spread. The riskless interest rate is modeled using a standard two-factor affine model, thus...

This paper investigates the importance of idiosyncratic consumption risk for the cross-sectional variation in average returns on stocks and bonds. If idiosyncratic consumption risk is not priced, the only pricing factor in a multiperiod economy is the rate of aggregate consumption growth. We...

Using a new dataset of bid and offer quotes for credit default swaps, we investigate the relationship between theoretical determinants of default risk and actual market premia using linear regression. These theoretical determinants are firm leverage, volatility and the riskless interest rate. We...

This paper estimates the rate of relative risk aversion using Euler equations based on household-level consumption data. These Euler equations are implications of market structures that do not necessarily allow agents to perfectly insure themselves. The paper focuses on tests of the...

This paper investigates the importance of market incompleteness by comparing the rates of risk aversion estimated from complete and incomplete markets environments. For the incomplete-markets case, we use consumption data for 50 U.S. states. While the use of state-level data is conceptually...

Characterizing asset return dynamics using volatility models is an important part of empirical finance. The existing literature favors some rather complex volatility specifications whose relative performance is usually assessed through their likelihood based on a time-series of asset returns....

Which loss function should be used when estimating and evaluating option valuation models? Many different functions have been suggested, but no standard has emerged. We emphasize that consistency in the choice of loss functions is crucial. First, for any given model, the loss function used in...

Which loss function should be used when estimating and evaluating option pricing models? Many different fucntions have been suggested, but no standard has emerged. We do not promote a partidular function, but instead emphasize that consistency in the choice of loss functions is crucial. First,...