In this paper we investigate the importance of acquaintance networks for financial decisions by households. We construct a variable capturing the expected proximity or social closeness to a subpopulation of financially savvy people using an overdispersed Poisson model. This measure captures the...

In this paper we investigate the importance of acquaintance networks for financial decisions by households. We construct a variable capturing the expected proximity or social closeness to a subpopulation of financially savvy people using an overdispersed Poisson model. This measure captures the...

It is widely known that the small but looming possibility of default renders the expected return distribution for financial products containing credit risk to be highly skewed and fat tailed. In this paper, we apply recent techniques developed for incorporating the additional risk faced by...

The poor performance of traditional asset classes in recent years has driven the search for greater investment into alternative asset classes. The desire to reap higher risk adjusted returns from diversification into assets which offer low and even negative correlation with equities and bonds...

Sustainable development entails meeting our present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. This requires us to treat economic, social and environmental aspects in an integrated way, but little is known about the nature of individual preferences towards...

Institutional investors invest billions of dollars on behalf of investors whilst knowing little about investors' social values. Using survey data from a customized wave of the Dutch CentERdata panel for citizens who are obliged to participate in a pension plan, we find significant variation in...

This paper proposes an alternative specification for the second stage of the Case-Shiller repeat sales method. This specification is based on serial correlation in the deviations from the mean one-period returns on the underlying individual assets, whereas the original Case-Shiller method...

Using a new survey data set of matched exchange rate and interest rate expectations for eight currencies relative to the German mark, we examine empirically the relationship between exchange rate returns, "news" and risk premia. "News" on interest differentials enters significantly in equations...

In this paper we present the results of an international survey among 313 CFOs on capitalstructure choice. We document several interesting insights on how theoretical concepts arebeing applied by professionals in the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany, and France and wedirectly compare our results...