This paper takes a close look at the 'behavioural finance' explanations of the equity premium puzzle, namely myopic loss aversion (Benartzi and Thaler, 1995) and disappointment aversion (Ang, Bekaert and Liu, 2000). The paper proposes a simple specification of loss and disappointment aversion...

The study suggests that the EU's eastward enlargement will be beneficial to the new members, while most EU countries will record minor welfare gains. Poland is expected to gain 3.4% of GDP, and Hungary almost 7%. The new members will experience production increases across almost all sectors,...

The Lisbon strategy could reinvigorate Europeu0092s economy and boost employment. In 2000 the European leaders agreed to stimulate economic growth and employment and make Europeu0092s economy the most competitive in the world. If Europe would really reach the goals they set, Europeu0092s Gross...

Understanding how working time is organised and how this is impacting on balance of work versus private life is of fundamental importance. This general statement is very much in accordance with the main objective of the Europe 2020 employment strategy, stating that at least 75% of the population...

The harmonisation of fiscal and economic policy within the European Monetary Union (EMU) has had a considerable impact on the economies of member countries in the past decade. In particular, several studies indicate that the proceeding economic integration among euro area countries has important...

We study how financial market efficiency affects a measure of diversification of output across industrial sectors borrowed from the portfolio allocation literature. Using data on sector-level value added for a wide cross section of countries and for various levels of disaggregation, we construct...

During the last decade, markets for covered warrants (bank-issued options) have flourished in Europe and Asia. In these markets, investors often face a choice between many instruments that differ only slightly from each other. Based on retail trades in call options on the German DAX index, this...

The notable increase in international reserve holdings over the past decade and their use during the global financial crisis of 2008/2009 has sparked renewed interest in the analysis of the optimal level of reserve holdings, in particular in countries which are subject to sudden stops. Less...

This paper aims at analysing the mortality patterns of hedge funds over the period January 1994 to May 2008. In particular, we investigate the extent to which a spillover of risk among hedge funds through redemptions and failures of other funds has affected the probability of fund failure. We...

We study how and to what extent private households are affected by the recent financial crisis and how their financial decisions are in uenced by this shock. Our analysis reveals that individuals with low levels of financial literacy are less likely to have invested in the stock market and thus...