This paper presents a manageable and effective way of nesting two popular, yet distinct approaches to obtain optimal hedging ratios - time-series econometrics (GARCH) and dynamic programming (DP). The nested DP-GARCH model is then compared to a DP-GARCH model that accounts for variability in the...

Various bid-ask spread estimators are applied to transaction data from LIFFE cocoa and coffee futures markets, and the resulting estimates are compared to observed actual bid-ask spreads. Results suggest that actual bid-ask spreads, which are not reported by most open-outcry futures markets, can...