Faced with the problem of pricing complex contingent claims, an investor seeks to make his valuations robust to model uncertainty. We construct a notion of a model- uncertainty-induced utility function and show that model uncertainty increases the investor's effective risk aversion. Using the...

Faced with the problem of pricing complex contingent claims, investors seek to make their valuations robust to model uncertainty. We construct a notion of a model-uncertainty-induced utility function and show that model uncertainty increases investors’ effective risk aversion. Using this...

This paper is concerned with the behavior of the risk premium on the market portfolio of risky assets. The paper provides a characterization of the evolution of the market risk prem ium in economies where the variance of the return on the market has constant variance and market index options can...

This empirical study is motivated by the literature on “smile-consistent” arbitrage pricing with stochastic volatility. We investigate the number and shape of shocks that move implied volatility smiles and surfaces by applying Principal Components Analysis. Two components are identified...

The paper explores the economic value of being able to span market outcomes through the use of options. We model an economy with a single risky asset. Consumption takes place at one date, corresponding to the horizon of all investors. Options on the consumption good are not redundant securities...

This paper designs a new equalization-aid formula based on fiscal gaps of local communities. Using conceptual analysis and simulations with Massachusetts data, the authors illustrate the tradeoffs that policymakers face in deciding on the policy variables in the formula and lay out several...

Local jurisdictions differ in the per capita costs that they must incur to provide a standard quality and quantity of municipal services at average efficiency. These cost differences are attributable to local social and economic characteristics or circumstances that are outside the control of...