This paper develops a test that helps assess whether the term structure of option implied volatility is constant across different levels of moneyness. The test is based on the Hausman principle of comparing two estimators, one that is efficient but not robust to the deviation being tested, and...

This paper investigates the incentive of credit rating agencies (CRAs) to bias ratings using a semiparametric, ordered-response model. The proposed model explicitly takes conflicts of interest into account and allows the ratings to depend flexibly on risk attributes through a semiparametric...

This paper develops a test that helps assess whether the term structure of option implied volatility is constant across different levels of moneyness. The test is based on the Hausman principle of comparing two estimators, one that is efficient but not robust to the deviation being tested, and...

This paper develops a semiparametric, ordered-response model of credit rating in which ratings are equilibrium outcomes of a stylized cheap-talk game. The proposed model allows the choice probability to be an unknown function of multiple indices permitting flexible interaction, non-monotonicity,...

Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) adjust preliminary bond ratings with knowledge beyond publicly available information. These unobserved "soft adjustments" may reflect material non-public information and rating biases due to conflicts of interest, making certain bond characteristics endogenous. We...

Japan achieved phenomenal economic growth after wwii. Starting in the early 1990s, however, the japanese economy began experiencing a prolonged deflation-stagnation period widely known as the “lost decades”. Based on data from the world bank and the federal reserve bank of saint louis, this...