We examine a production-based asset pricing model with an unobservable mean growth rate ollowing a two-state Markov chain and with an ambiguity averse representative agent. Our model requires a low coefficient of relative risk aversion to produce: (i) a high equity premium and volatile equity...

We consider an economy where individuals privately choose effort and trade competitively priced securities that pay off with effort-determined probability. We show that if insurance against a negative shock is sufficiently incomplete, then standard functional form restrictions ensure that...

We derive the equilibrium asset expected returns when there is ambiguity in asset expected returns, as well as ambiguity in asset return variances. In our model, ambiguity risk is systematic in nature and is non-diversifiable. Under regularity conditions, expected asset returns are linearly...

We introduce ambiguity about assets' value dynamics into a trade-off framework of capital structure to explain the empirically observed zero-leverage and underleverage puzzles. We utilize the decision framework of Chen and Epstein (2002) to characterize investors' ambiguity aversion. We show...

We confront the generalized recursive smooth ambiguity aversion preferences of Klibanoff, Marinacci, and Mukerji (2005, 2009) with data using Bayesian methods introduced by Gallant and McCulloch (2009) to close two existing gaps in the literature. First, we use macroeconomic and financial data...

We theoretically analyze how index investing affects financial markets using a dynamic exchange economy with heterogeneous investors and two Lucas trees. We identify two effects of indexing: lockstep trading of stocks increases market volatility and stock return correlations but reduction in...

One of the leading theories of entrepreneurship is that less risk averse individuals become entrepreneurs and more risk averse individuals become their employees. Kihlstrom and Laffont (1979) formalized this insight in an elegant and widely taught general equilibrium model. However, their model...

One of the leading theories of entrepreneurship is that less risk averse individuals become entrepreneurs and more risk averse individuals become their employees. Kihlstrom and Laffont (1979) formalized this insight in an elegant and widely taught general equilibrium model. However, their model...

This paper characterizes the equilibrium in a continuous time financial market populated by heterogeneous agents who differ in their rate of relative risk aversion and face convex portfolio constraints. The model is studied in an application to margin constraints and found to match real world...