The aim of this paper is to investigate the ability of the Dynamic Variance Gamma model, recently proposed by Bellini and Mercuri (2010), to evaluate option prices on the S&P500 index. We also provide a simple relation between the Dynamic Variance Gamma model and the Vix index. We use this...

We propose an integrated model of the joint dynamics of FX rates and asset prices for the pricing of FX derivatives, including Quanto products; the model is based on a multivariate construction for Levy processes which proves to be analytically tractable. The approach allows for simultaneous...

In this paper we apply the multivariate construction for Lévy processes introduced by Ballotta and Bonfiglioli (2014) to propose an integrated model for the joint dynamics of FX exchange rates and asset prices. We show that the proposed construction is consistent in terms of symmetries with...

In this paper, we develop a new nonparametric approach for estimating the risk-neutral density of asset price and reformulate its estimation into a double-constrained optimization problem. We implement our approach in R and evaluate it using the S&P 500 market option prices from 1996 to 2015. A...

Structural breaks in GARCH processes do matter for applications and model-based inference. To show this, I first propose a new approach to estimate change-point GARCH models with maximum likelihood, for which no method exists so far. Practical implementation of the proposed algorithm is...

We put forward a Merton-type multi-factor portfolio model for assessing banks’ contributions to systemic risk. This model accounts for the major drivers of banks’ systemic relevance: size, default risk and correlation of banks’ assets as a proxy for interconnectedness. We measure systemic...

This paper examines the role of peer effects in smoking behavior using data of middle and high school students in the United States. I present a random utility model that explicitly incorporates complementarity between individual and peer smokings. A Markov process model of smoking interactions...

Using equations that arise in quantum mechanics, this paper describes a way to more accurately and efficiently represent non-Gaussian return distributions than the standard method of invoking skewness and kurtosis. Then, it provides a new single intuitive number, defined here as the “crash...

Johan Gielis showed that all closed curves might be considered as some sort of deformed ellipses. He gave a superformula to parameterize such shapes. In this study an attempt has been made to estimate the parameters of Gielis' superformula from empirical data. We use an optimum search algorithm...