This thesis consists of two related parts. In the first part we conduct an empiricalexamination of the dynamics of Australian interest rates of six different maturities,covering the whole yield curve. This direct study of the long rates is quite novel. Weuse maximum likelihood estimation on a...

There has been an on-going debate about choices of the most suitable model amongst avariety of model specifications and parameterizations. The first dissertation essay investigateswhether asymmetric leptokurtic return distributions such as Hansen’s (1994) skewed tdistributioncombined with...

There has been an on-going debate about choices of the most suitable model amongst a variety of model specifications and parameterizations. The first dissertation essay investigates whether asymmetric leptokurtic return distributions such as Hansen's (1994) skewed tdistribution combined with...

For a continuous-time financial market with a single agent, we establish equilibrium pricing formulae under the assumption that the dividends follow an exponential Lévy process. The agent is allowed to consume a lump at the terminal date; before, only flow consumption is allowed. The agent's...

This article shows that the nonstandard approach to stochastic integration with respect to (C^2 functions of) Lévy processes is consistent with the classical theory of pathwise stochastic integration with respect to (C^2 functions of) jump-diffusions with finite-variation jump part.It is proven...

The main aim of this thesis is the development of locally risk-minimizing hedging strategies for unit-linked life insurance contracts whose unit is modeled in a general Lévy-process financial market. It therefore merges the quite advanced and in recent years developed theory of...

The article examines the properties of generalized method of moments GMM estimators of utility function parameters. The research strategy is to apply the GMM procedure to generated data on asset returns from stochastic exchange economies; discrete methods and Markov chain models are used to...

The estimated parameters of output distance functions frequently violate the monotonicity, quasiconvexity and convexity constraints implied by economic theory, leading to estimated elasticities and shadow prices that are incorrectly signed, and ultimately to perverse conclusions concerning the...