John G. Cragg and Burton G. Malkiel collected detailed forecasts of professional investors concerning the growth of 175 companies and use this information to examine the impact of such forecasts on the market evaluations of the companies and to test and extend traditional models of how stock market values are determined.

The phenomenon of excess volatility in the context of share prices and of the term structure of interest rates has been documented by the existing literature, highlighting the limitations of traditional models of rational expectations and of reliance on the efficient market hypothesis. The data violates the bounds on volatility that are derived from them. Amia Santini studies the possible shortcomings of the methodologies used to uncover those inconsistencies, and the potential explanations of the observed phenomenon that can be considered in line with the rational expectation framework. She focuses on a relatively newer field of study: derivative instruments. Previous results of excess volatility, recovered with a worldwide focus, are presented and an empirical analysis is performed to assess whether a similar outcome would be obtained in the Eurozone market. The exploration of financial information that falls underneath the risk-neutral measure, such as derivative prices, reduces the importance of time-varying discount rates as a potential explanation of excess volatility. In fact, the martingale measure already incorporates all potential variation in risk premia, which is the main driver of changes in discount rates. This opens the door to different and innovative prospects, and specific attention is paid to a new model for investor behaviour, that of natural expectations.

An introduction to the theory and methods of empirical asset pricing, integrating classical foundations with recent developments. This book offers a comprehensive advanced introduction to asset pricing, the study of models for the prices and returns of various securities. The focus is empirical, emphasizing how the models relate to the data. The book offers a uniquely integrated treatment, combining classical foundations with more recent developments in the literature and relating some of the material to applications in investment management. It covers the theory of empirical asset pricing, the main empirical methods, and a range of applied topics. The book introduces the theory of empirical asset pricing through three main paradigms: mean variance analysis, stochastic discount factors, and beta pricing models. It describes empirical methods, beginning with the generalized method of moments (GMM) and viewing other methods as special cases of GMM; offers a comprehensive review of fund performance evaluation; and presents selected applied topics, including a substantial chapter on predictability in asset markets that covers predicting the level of returns, volatility and higher moments, and predicting cross-sectional differences in returns. Other chapters cover production-based asset pricing, long-run risk models, the Campbell-Shiller approximation, the debate on covariance versus characteristics, and the relation of volatility to the cross-section of stock returns. An extensive reference section captures the current state of the field. The book is intended for use by graduate students in finance and economics; it can also serve as a reference for professionals.

The first edition of Theory of Valuation is a collection of important papers in the field of theoretical financial economics published from 1973 to 1986, and original accompanying essays contributed by eminent researchers including Robert C Merton, Edward C Prescott, Stephen A Ross, and Joseph E Stiglitz.Since then, with the perspective of major theoretical strides in the field, the book has more than fulfilled its original expectations. The realization that it remains today a compendium of classic articles and a must-read for any serious student in theoretical financial economics, has prompted the publication of a new edition.This second edition presents a summary statement of significant research in theoretical financial economics for both the specialist and non-specialist financial economist. It also provides material for PhD-level courses covering valuation theory, and elective reading for advanced Master's and undergraduate courses.In addition to reproducing the original contributions, this edition includes the seminal paper by Edward C Prescott and Rajnish Mehra, “Recursive Competitive Equilibrium: The Case of Homogeneous Households,” originally published in Econometrica in 1980.

Professor Richard Quandt has made a major contribution to the development of economics in the 20th century. The range and significance of his work has long required a collection of his essays which will allow his contribution to be assessed as a whole. Despite an early interest in microeconomic theory, Richard Quandt has devoted most of his career to econometrics and, in particular, modal split estimation. More recently his work has focused on the econometrics of disequilibrium models with reference to both free market and planned economies. As well as outlining his many articles in microtheory, general econometrics, disequilibrium modeling, financial economics and the economics of planned economies, this collection should have a particular value for all scholars interested in the emergence of the new economies in Eastern Europe, a subject to which Professor Quandt has applied himself in recent years. This book includes an introduction by Professor Quandt describing his early life in Budapest and the circumstances which led him to study economics in America.