Correlations of equity securities have varied substantially over time and remain a source of continuing policy debate. This paper studies stock market correlations in an equilibrium model with heterogeneous risk aversion. In the model, preference heterogeneity causes countercyclical variations...

the long run mean and/or the persistence of expected inflation.

We analyze the performance of irrational investors, who mistake expected returns of assets in a multi-asset economy. Mistakes by probabilistically unsophisticated investors that a priori seem small lead to severe underperformance compared with rational investors, under general conditions. Our...