This paper considers the measurement of the equity risk premium in financial markets from a new perspective that picks up on a suggestion from Merton (1980) to use implied volatility of options on a market portfolio as a direct ‘ex-ante’ estimate for market variance, and hence the risk...

From the early 1970s to the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-09, U.S. crude oil production followed a declining trend. After the Global Financial Crisis, U.S. crude oil production increased rapidly. This paper addresses the important question "what economic factors have driven U.S. crude oil...