We show that the call-put implied volatility spread (IVS) outperforms many well-known predictors of the U.S. equity premium at return horizons up to six months over the period from 1996:1 to 2017:12. The predictive ability of the IVS is unrelated to the dividend yield and is useful in explaining...

I discuss three topics in this thesis. The first two concern topics centering on addition to the S&P 500 Index. In chapters two and three, I examine the price and liquidity effects (respectively) of additions to the S&P500 Index from January 1993 to December 2000. The results from chapter two...

This dissertation consists of three essays related to the efficiency of real estate markets.The first essay attempts to explain the causes of these inefficiencies by attributing them to unique characteristics of real estate markets. We consider an experimental asset market where all investors...

This dissertation comprises of three essays related to real estate auctions:The first essay examines the increase in number of bidders on bidding behavior. In a standard auction, bidders bid more aggressively when the number of bidders increases. However, Krishna and Rosenthal (1996, Games and...

When financing real estate properties through a mortgage, borrowers often face a variety of loan products. During the recent housing bubble the variety of mortgage products and features proliferated. The recent mortgage foreclosure crisis leads many commentators to point to the growth in the use...