In this paper, we provide evidence on two alternative mechanisms of interaction between returns and volatilities: the leverage effect and the volatility feedback effect. We stress the importance of distinguishing between realized volatility and implied volatility, and find that implied...

This paper proposes a novel methodology to construct optimal portfolios that incorporates the occurrence of systemic events. Investors maximize a modified Sharpe ratio conditional on a systemic event. We solve the portfolio allocation problem analytically under the absence of short-selling...

Expected returns vary when investors face time-varying investment opportunities. In theory, structural long-run risk models (Bansal and Yaron, 2004) and no-arbitrage affine models (Duffie, Pan, and Singleton, 2000) emphasize sources of risk that are not observable to the econometrician. We show...

COVID-19 has created an unprecedented global health crisis that caused millions of infections and deaths worldwide. Many, however, argue that pre-existing social inequalities have led to inequalities in infection and death rates across social classes, with the most-deprived classes are worst...