This study examines whether a conditional normal model with a nonparametric volatility distribution can account for the power law property of high frequency stock returns. The power law coefficients from the model are estimated using simulation methods applied to the empirical distribution for...

Using data on private and public firms, this study documents that profitability follows a hump shape over the lifecycle of a firm. Profitability rises with age for young firms, remains elevated, and then declines slowly for mature firms. A dynamic lifecycle model captures the observed age...

Following the financial crisis, the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) and the implementation of Basel III significantly changed the regulatory landscape in the U.S. This note discusses how the use of such fixed nominal thresholds impacts...

We provide a framework for assessing the build-up of vulnerabilities in the U.S. financial system. We collect forty-four indicators of financial and balance sheet conditions, cutting across measures of valuation pressures, nonfinancial borrowing, and financial sector health. We place the data in...

This study presents a model in which firms invest in Ramp;D to generate innovations that increase their underlying profitability and invest in physical capital to produce output. Estimating the model using a method of moments approach reveals that Ramp;D expenditures contribute significantly to...

The expected return to equity mdash; typically measured as a historical average mdash; is a key variable in the decision making of investors. A recent literature uses analysts' forecasts, investor surveys or present-value relationships and finds estimates of expected returns that are sometimes...

We examine the evidence on excess stock return predictability in a Bayesian setting in which the investor faces uncertainty about both the existence and strength of predictability. When we apply our methods to the dividend-price ratio, we find that even investors who are quite skeptical about...

Using data on a broad set of European firms, we find a strong positive relationship between the use of external financing and future productivity (TFP) growth within firms. This relationship is robust to various measures of financing and productivity, and strengthens as financing costs increase....

The expected return to equity — typically measured as a historical average — is a key variable in the decision making of investors. A recent literature uses analysts' forecasts, investor surveys or present-value relationships and finds estimates of expected returns that are sometimes much...

While many studies find that the tail distribution of high frequency stock returns follow a power law, there are only a few explanations for this finding. This study presents evidence that time-varying volatility can account for the power law property of high frequency stock returns. The power...