We develop a zero beta industry model of growth options to explain the conflicting empirical findings on the relation between stock returns and idiosyncratic return volatility at the firm level. By allowing for the volatility of the underlying idiosyncratic choice variables to exhibit...

We develop a firm valuation model with repeated expansion and contraction options to show operating profitability is a proxy for time-varying systematic risk. Relative to riskier assets, the proportionate value of contraction options increase as profitability falls, lowering the firm beta....

The Equity risk-premium and volatility puzzles: Is it possible to have a high-equity premium and a low risk-free rate, and a high volatile stock return, have received a great deal of attention but beyond this, the fundamental issues are the following: What are the economic representations that...

We derive and test q-theory implications for cross-sectional stock returns. Under constant returns to scale, stock returns equal levered investment returns, which are tied directly to firm characteristics. When we use GMM to match average levered investment returns to average observed stock...

We derive and test q-theory implications for cross-sectional stock returns. Under constant returns to scale, stock returns equal levered investment returns, which are tied directly to firm characteristics. When we use GMM to match average levered investment returns to average observed stock...

We take a simple q-theory model and ask how well it can explain external financing anomalies, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Our central insight is that optimal investment is an important driving force of these anomalies. The model simultaneously reproduces procyclical equity issuance...

This paper applies Magni's (2011) Aggregate Return On Investment (AROI)to investment performance measurement. We show that the ratio of undiscountednet cash flow to undiscounted invested capital is not a naive metric (itseemingly does not take the time value of money into account). It is a...

We examine the cross-sectional relation between log growth in physical capital to log growth in labor and subsequent stock returns. The ratio is a strong predictor of negative future abnormal returns. This relation strengthens with measures of financing constraint while remaining robust to...

I show that an asset pricing model for the equity claims of a value-maximizing firm can be constructed from its optimal financial contracting behavior. I study a dynamic contracting model in which firms trade off the costs and benefits of a given promise to pay external lenders in a specific...

This paper investigates whether changes in the monetary transmission mechanism as captured by the interest rate respond to variations in asset returns. We distinguish between low-volatility (bull) and high-volatility (bear) markets and employ a TVP-VAR approach with stochastic volatility to...