This paper studies how hyperbolic discounting affects stock market participation, asset allocation, and saving decisions over the life cycle in an economy with Epstein-Zin preferences. Hyperbolic discounting affects saving and portfolio decisions through at least two channels: (1) it lowers...

We study an optimal portfolio and consumption choice problem of family that combines life insurance of parents who receive deterministic labor income until the fixed time T. We consider utility functions of parents and children separately and assume that parents have uncertain lifetime. If...

We develop a theory that connects insurance premiums, insurance companies’ investment behavior, and equilibrium asset prices. Consistent with the model's key predictions, we show empirically that (1) insurers with more stable insurance funding take more investment risk and, therefore, earn...

We analyze dynamic interactions between market insurance, the stock of insurable assets and liquid wealth accumulation in a model with non-durable and durable consumption. The stock of the durable is exposed to risk against which households can insure. Since the model does not have a closed form...

We analyze dynamic interactions between market insurance, the stock of insurable assets and liquid wealth accumulation in a model with non-durable and durable consumption. The stock of the durable is exposed to risk against which households can insure. Since the model does not have a closed form...

We introduce the notion of a patience premium, which is based on the concept of ambiguity aversion and is an ambiguity premium. We identify three reasons for the existence of the patience premium: Certainty preferences: perceived confidence in the expected performance; Comparison with peers:...

We analytically show that a common across rich/poor individuals Stone-Geary utility function with subsistence consumption in the context of a simple two-asset portfolio-choice model is capable of qualitatively and quantitatively explaining: (i) the higher saving rates of the rich, (ii) the...

We consider optimal asset allocation for a long-term investor saving for retirement. The investment portfolio consists of a bond index and a stock index. Using multi-period mean variance criteria, we explore two types of strategies: deterministic strategies are based only on the time remaining...

This paper investigates retirees' optimal purchases of fixed and variable longevity income annuities using their defined contribution (DC) plan assets and given their expected Social Security benefits. As an alternative, we also evaluate using plan assets to boost Social Security benefits...