We show that if an agent is uncertain about the precise form of his utility function, his actual relative risk aversion may depend on wealth even if he knows his utility function lies in the class of constant relative risk aversion (CRRA) utility functions. We illustrate the consequences of this...

Important sources of risk in agriculture are yield and price fluctuations caused by unpredictable and uncontrollable events, inducing income volatility and adding considerable complexity to farmers’ decisions. The literature suggests that these events could affect farmers’ risk aversion in...

We study the portfolio decision of a household with limited information-processing capacity in a setting with recursive utility, which has two key features. First, intertemporal substitution and risk aversion are disentangled. Second, the household has a preference for the timing of the...

We show that if an agent is uncertain about the precise form of his utility function, his actual relative risk aversion may depend on wealth even if he knows his utility function lies in the class of constant relative risk aversion (CRRA) utility functions. We illustrate the consequences of this...

This paper studies consumption-portfolio decisions with recursive utility on a finite time horizon. We postulate essential properties that a bequest motive must satisfy. We show that the parameter which serves as weight of bequest in setups with time-additive utility is both quantitatively and...

We combine Almgren--Chriss optimal execution with market microstructure in a framework where passive (joining the queue in a limit order book) or aggressive (willing to cross the bid-offer spread) modes of execution are allowed. To achieve this, we represent the Almgren--Chriss strategy within...

Utility functions offer a means to encode objectives and preferences in investor portfolios. The functions allow one to place a score on outcomes and then identify optimal portfolios by maximizing utility. The central theme of this article is that utility functions should be tailored to the...