316 research outputs found
The lived experience of self-identifying character strengths through coaching: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
The study aimed to expand the understanding of the experience of people who self-identify their character strengths. The data came from semi-structured interviews held after a coaching intervention using strengths cards. Analysis using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) revealed four themes: Identifying strengths is instinctive, yet complex; experiencing the subjective self; identifying strengths is multi-faceted; and strengths are brought into awareness. The findings suggest that the lived experience of self-identifying strengths is complex and positive. This study may provide coaches and positive psychology practitioners insights about how strengths identification tools and interventions are experienced subjectively
Predictability of Returns and Cash Flows
We review the literature on return and cash flow growth predictability
form the perspective of the present-value identity. We focus
predominantly on recent work. Our emphasis is on U.S. aggregate stock
return predictability, but we also discuss evidence from other asset
classes and countries
Mortgage Timing
We study how the term structure of interest rates relates to mortgage
choice, both at the household and the aggregate level. A simple utility
framework of mortgage choice points to the long-term bond risk premium
as theoretical determinant: when the bond risk premium is high,
fixed-rate mortgage payments are high, making adjustable-rate mortgages
more attractive. This long-term bond risk premium is markedly different
from other term structure variables that have been proposed, including
the yield spread and the long yield. We confirm empirically that the
bulk of the time variation in both aggregate and loan-level mortgage
choice can be explained by time variation in the bond risk premium. This
is true whether bond risk premia are measured using forecasters' data, a
VAR term structure model, or from a simple household decision rule based
on adaptive expectations. This simple rule moves in lock-step with
mortgage choice, lending credibility to a theory of strategic mortgage
timing by households
Health and Mortality Delta: Assessing the Welfare Cost of Household Insurance Choice
We develop a pair of risk measures for the universe of health and
longevity products that includes life insurance, annuities, and
supplementary health insurance. Health delta measures the differential
payoff that a policy delivers in poor health, while mortality delta
measures the differential payoff that a policy delivers at death.
Optimal portfolio choice simplifies to the problem of choosing a
combination of health and longevity products that replicates the optimal
exposure to health and mortality delta. For each household in the Health
and Retirement Study, we calculate the health and mortality delta
implied by its ownership of life insurance, annuities including private
pensions, supplementary health insurance, and long-term care insurance.
For the median household aged 51 to 58, the lifetime welfare cost of
market incompleteness and suboptimal portfolio choice is 28 percent of
total wealth
The Cross-Section and Time-Series of Stock and Bond Returns
We propose a three-factor model that jointly prices the cross-section of
returns on portfolios of stocks sorted on the book-to-market dimension,
the cross-section of government bonds sorted by maturity, and time
series variation in expected bond returns. The main insight is that
innovations to the nominal bond risk premium price the book-to-market
sorted stock portfolios. We argue that these innovations capture
business cycle risk and show that dividends of the highest
book-to-market portfolio fall substantially more than those of the low
book-to-market portfolio during NBER recessions. We propose a structural
model that ties together the nominal bond risk premium, the
cross-section of book-to-market sorted stock portfolios, and recessions.
This model is quantitatively consistent with the observed value, equity,
and nominal bond risk premia
Integrating coaching and positive psychology: Concepts and practice
The abstract in included in the text
Long Run Risk, the Wealth-Consumption Ratio, and the Temporal Pricing of Risk
Representative agent consumption based
asset pricing models have made great strides in
accounting for many important features of asset
returns. The long run risk (LRR) models of
Ravi Bansal and Amir Yaron (2004) are a prime
example of this progress. Yet, several other representative
agent models, such as the external
habit model of John Y. Campbell and John H.
Cochrane (1999) and the variable rare disasters
model of Xavier Gabaix (2008), seem to be able
to match a similar set of asset pricing moments.
Additional moments would be useful to help distinguish
between these models. Hanno Lustig,
Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, and Adrien Verdelhan
(2009) argue that the wealth-consumption ratio
is such a moment. A comparison of the wealthconsumption
ratio in the LRR model and in the
data is favorable to the LRR model. This is no
small feat because the wealth-consumption ratio
is not a target in the usual calibrations of the
model, and the LRR is—so far—the sole model
able to reproduce both the equity premium and
the wealth-consumption ratio. The LRR model
matches the properties of the wealth-consumption
ratio despite the fact that it implies a negative
real bond risk premium. This is because it
generates quite a bit of consumption cash flow
risk to offset the negative discount rate risk
Multiplex STR amplification sensitivity in a silicon microchip
The demand for solutions to perform forensic DNA profiling outside of centralized laboratories is increasing. We here demonstrate highly sensitive STR amplification using a silicon micro-PCR (mu PCR) chip. Exploiting industry-standard semiconductor manufacturing processes, a device was fabricated that features a small form factor thanks to an integrated heating element covering three parallel micro-reactors with a reaction volume of 0.5 mu l each. Diluted reference DNA samples (1 ng-31 pg) were amplified on the mu PCR chip using the forensically validated AmpFISTR Identifier Plus kit, followed by conventional capillary electrophoresis. Complete STR profiles were generated with input DNA quantities down to 62 pg. Occasional allelic dropouts were observed from 31 pg downward. On-chip STR profiles were compared with those of identical samples amplified using a conventional thermal cycler for direct comparison of amplification sensitivity in a forensic setting. The observed sensitivity was in line with kit specifications for both mu PCR and conventional PCR. Finally, a rapid amplification protocol was developed. Complete STR profiles could be generated in less than 17 minutes from as little as 125 pg template DNA. Together, our results are an important step towards the development of commercial, mass-produced, relatively cheap, handheld devices for on-site testing in forensic DNA analysis
Predictability of Returns and Cash Flows
We review the literature on return and cash flow growth predictability
form the perspective of the present-value identity. We focus
predominantly on recent work. Our emphasis is on U.S. aggregate stock
return predictability, but we also discuss evidence from other asset
classes and countries
Mortgage Timing
We study how the term structure of interest rates relates to mortgage
choice, both at the household and the aggregate level. A simple utility
framework of mortgage choice points to the long-term bond risk premium
as theoretical determinant: when the bond risk premium is high,
fixed-rate mortgage payments are high, making adjustable-rate mortgages
more attractive. This long-term bond risk premium is markedly different
from other term structure variables that have been proposed, including
the yield spread and the long yield. We confirm empirically that the
bulk of the time variation in both aggregate and loan-level mortgage
choice can be explained by time variation in the bond risk premium. This
is true whether bond risk premia are measured using forecasters' data, a
VAR term structure model, or from a simple household decision rule based
on adaptive expectations. This simple rule moves in lock-step with
mortgage choice, lending credibility to a theory of strategic mortgage
timing by households
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