Alternative Theories and Empirical Approaches to Price Discovery: An Application to Fed Cattle

Price discovery is a frequent topic of research, but many times is not clearly defined and thus purported to cover a myriad of topics. This article provides two alternative theories as the basis for one line of price discovery research. Empirical models consistent with the two theories are estimated using a common data set. Empirical results differ as expected. This article evidences why the theoretical basis for an empirical model depends on clearly defining the objective(s) of the research.