Option pricing models are calibrated to market data of plain vanillas by minimization of an error functional. From the economic viewpoint, there are several possibilities to measure the error between the market and the model. These different specifications of the error give rise to different...

This dissertation consists of three essays that uncover the origins of market frictions and their implications for the functioning of the global foreign exchange (FX) market. The first research paper speaks to the hegemony of the US dollar in FX trading. Over 85% of all FX transactions involve...

Review of Studies on the Relationship between Trading Volume and Stock Returns -- Data and Methodology -- Results: Trading Volume and the Cross-Sectional Variation of Stock Returns -- Results: Time-Stability of Portfolio Returns -- Results: Economic Significance of Volume-Return Relations --...