infonet-economy

We present a highly parallelizable and flexible computational method to solve high-dimensional stochastic dynamic economic models. Solving such models often requires the use of iterative methods, like time iteration or dynamic programming. By exploiting the generic iterative structure of this broad class of economic problems, we propose a parallelization scheme that favors hybrid...

This paper investigates the motives for financial complexity by focusing on a large market of investment products exclusively targeted to households. We develop a robust measure of complexity by performing a text analysis of the term sheets of 55,000 retail structured products issued in 17 European countries since 2002. We first find that the complexity of structured products has...

We analyze the impact of funding costs and margin requirements on index options traded on the CBOE. Assuming differential borrowing and lending rates, we derive no-arbitrage bounds for European options. We show that funding costs and the CBOE’s margin requirements lead to a price increase, which translates into skew and smile patterns for implied volatility curves even under constant...

Stock market investment decisions of individuals are positively correlated with that of co-workers. Sorting of unobservably similar individuals to the same workplaces is unlikely to explain our results, as evidenced by the investment behavior of individuals that move between plants. Purchases made under stronger co-worker purchase activity are not associated with higher returns....

We introduce a tractable class of non-ane price processes with multifrequency stochastic volatil- ity and jumps. The specications require few xed parameters and deliver fast option pricing. One key ingredient is a tight link between jumps and volatility regimes, as asset pricing theory suggests. Empirically, the model matches implied volatility surfaces and their dynamics with- out...

We study the risk-taking channel of monetary policy in Bolivia, a dollarized country where monetary changes are transmitted exogenously from the USA. We find that a lower policy rate spurs the granting of riskier loans, to borrowers with worse credit histories, lower ex-ante internal ratings, and weaker ex-post performance (acutely so when the rate subsequently increases). Effects...

Bhattacharya et al. (2012) shows that many investors are reluctant to accept and follow financial advice. This study analyzes three possibilities which could cause this misbehavior: non-monetary costs, willingness to become informed and comprehensibility of financial information. As so many investors do not accept financial advice, the study further analyzes if it is beneficial to...

In a recent experimental study of intertemporal risky decision making, Andreoni and Sprenger (2012) find that subjects exhibit a preference for intertemporal diversification, which is inconsistent with discounted expected utility theory. It was claimed that their results are also at odds with models involving probability weighting, such as rank-dependent utility and cumulative...

Any solvency regime for financial institutions should be aligned with the two fundamental objectives of regulation: protecting liability holders and securing the stability of the financial system. From these objectives wederive two normative requirements for capital adequacy tests, called surplus and numeraire invariance, respectively. We characterize capital adequacy tests that...