We report new evidence that speculation in energy and precious metal futures are more prevalent in crisis periods and even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, agricultural futures attract more hedging pressure. Post-GFC patterns mirror the 1980s’ recessions. Using quantile...

This paper investigates how firm debt disproportionately impacted the stock returns of firms who were highly exposed to the economic consequences of social distancing. Specifically, I use a difference-in-difference design to causally identify the impact that higher levels of firm debt had for...

In den Wirtschaftswissenschaften lassen sich zwei Theorietypen unterscheiden: Die "idealistische Ökonomie" geht von einem Idealzustand aus und untersucht die Bedingungen, unter denen dieser erreicht werden kann wie die Eigenschaften des "homo oeconomicus". Die "realistische Ökonomie" geht vom...

"This book documents a curated selection of papers on the impact of index investment on commodity futures prices. The 10 papers follow the evolving speculation debate with new author forewords highlighting the contribution and impact. Essential reading for scholars and researchers interested in...