This paper concentrates on quantifying the behavioral aspects of systemic risk by using a novel approach based on entropy. More specifically, we study aggregate market expectations and the predictability of the systemic risk before and during the financial crisis in 2008. Two underlying signals...

This paper builds a novel multi-criteria, non-parametric classification framework in order to improve the accuracy of pricing European options. The proposed approach is based on classifying financial options according to their implied volatility, time to maturity and moneyness. Using a recent...

We present a theoretical framework in which an elitist and a non-elitist university in a developed country compete by choosing their admission standards and deciding whether or not to open a branch campus in a developing country. Students from a developing country attend university if either a...

The time-series dynamics of short-term interest rates are important as they are a key input into pricing models of the term structure of interest rates. In this paper we extend popular discrete time short-rate models to include Markov switching of infinite dimension. This is a Bayesian...

We examine the causal relationship between crude oil and gold spot prices before and after the recent financial crisis. In the pre-crisis period, causality is linear and unidirectional, running from oil to gold. In the post-crisis period, a bidirectional nonlinear causality relationship emerges....

It is sometimes alleged that collective bargaining coverage in Germany is understated because uncovered firms ‘orient’ themselves toward sectoral agreements. In fact, although orientation has grown as sectoral bargaining has declined, their joint frequency has fallen. Further, where...

More than low default rates, lenders are interested in the expected return on their loans. In this paper, we consider a number of other measures of repayment and nonpayment that are likely to be of direct interest to lenders. Using data from the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study, we...

Rising costs of and returns to college have led to sizeable increases in the demand for student loans in many countries. In the U.S., student loan default rates have also risen for recent cohorts as labor market uncertainty and debt levels have increased. We discuss these trends as well as...

In this paper, we solve two problems related to growth and survival probability maximization of an economy. We assume that the problems are subject to the stochastic net worth model introduced by Fleming and Stein (2004) and apply the techniques of stochastic optimal control theory in order to...

We study optimal asset allocation for a portfolio of European fixed-income mutual funds during the recent financial turmoil. We use a sample of daily returns for country indices of French, German and Italian funds to investigate the quest for international diversification. Our analysis focuses...