Optimal hedge ratio and elasticity of risk aversion

We apply the mean-standard deviation paradigm to examine a widely used model of the hedging literature. As the hedging model satisfies a scale and location condition the mean-standard deviation technique provides more intuition for the revision of the firm's optimum risk taking when price volatility changes. By introducing risk aversion elasticity we describe the interaction of price risk and optimum hedge. We show that with unit risk aversion elasticity optimum hedge ratio is invariant to changes in price volatilities.elasticity of risk aversion

Arbitrage and convergence: Evidence from Mexican ADRs

This paper investigates the convergence between the prices of ADRs and Mexican traded shares using a sample of 21 dually listed shares. Since both markets have similar trading hours, standard arbitrage considerations should make persistent deviation from price parity rare. We use a STAR model, where the dynamics of convergence to price parity are influenced by the size of the deviation from price parity. Based on different tests, we select the ESTAR model. Deviations from price parity tend to die out quickly; for 14 out of 21 pairs it takes less than two days for the deviations from price parity to be reduced by half. The average half-life of a shock to price parity is 3.1 business days, while the median half-life is 1.1 business days. By allowing a non-linear adjustment process, the average half-life is reduced by more than 50% when compared to the standard linear arbitrage model. We find that several liquidity indicators are positively correlated to the speed of convergence to price parity.ADRs, nonlinear convergence, arbitrage, ESTAR

Frequency Effects on Predictability of Stock Returns

We propose that predictability is a prerequisite for profitability on financial markets. We look at ways to measure predictability of price changes using information theoretic approach and employ them on all historical data available for NYSE 100 stocks. This allows us to determine whether frequency of sampling price changes affects the predictability of those. We also relations between price changes predictability and the deviation of the price formation processes from iid as well as the stock's sector. We also briefly comment on the complicated relationship between predictability of price changes and the profitability of algorithmic trading.Comment: 8 pages, 16 figures, submitted for possible publication to Computational Intelligence for Financial Engineering and Economics 2014 conferenc

The Evolution of Cross-Region Price Distribution in Russia

The behavior of the entire cross-section distribution of prices in Russian regions is analyzed from 1992 through 2000, using non-parametric techniques. The cost of a staples basket is used as a price representative. Price dispersion measured as the standard deviation of prices is found to be diminishing since about 1994; and the shape of the cross-region distribution of prices tends to be more regular over time. To characterize intra-distribution mobility, a transition probability function (stochastic kernel) is estimated. It is also used to derive a long-run limit of the price distribution. Overall, the results suggest that, excluding a few years following the price liberalization, price convergence has been happening among Russian regions.price convergence, price dispersion, distribution dynamics, market integration, Russia

Price discovery in spot and futures markets: a reconsideration

We reconsider the issue of price discovery in spot and futures markets. We use a threshold error correction model to allow for arbitrage operations to have an impact on the return dynamics. We estimate the model using quote midpoints, and we modify the model to account for time-varying transaction costs. We find that the futures market leads in the process of price discovery. The lead of the futures market is more pronounced in the presence of arbitrage signals. Thus, when the deviation between the spot and the futures market is large, the spot market tends to adjust to the futures market

Violating purchasing power parity.

This paper demonstrates that deviations from the law of one price are an important source of violations of absolute PPP across countries. Using highly disaggregated U.S. export data, we document evidence of systematic international price discrimination based on the local wage of consumers in the destination market. We show that most violations from absolute PPP can also be explained by international differences in wages. We find very little additional explanation is due to differences in income per capita. Developing and calibrating a model of pricing-to-market based on search frictions and international productivity differences, we show that pricing-to-market accounts for 62 percent of the relationship between national price levels and income and 100 percent of the deviation from the law of one price. In contrast, the textbook Harrod-Balassa-Samuelson effect accounts for the remaining 38 percent of the relationship between national price levels and income.Purchasing power parity

Adaptive Expectations, Confirmatory Bias, and Informational Efficiency

We study the informational efficiency of a market with a single traded asset. The price initially differs from the fundamental value, about which the agents have noisy private information (which is, on average, correct). A fraction of traders revise their price expectations in each period. The price at which the asset is traded is public information. The agents' expectations have an adaptive component and a social-interactions component with confirmatory bias. We show that, taken separately, each of the deviations from rationality worsen the information efficiency of the market. However, when the two biases are combined, the degree of informational inefficiency of the market (measured as the deviation of the long-run market price from the fundamental value of the asset) can be non-monotonic both in the weight of the adaptive component and in the degree of the confirmatory bias. For some ranges of parameters, two biases tend to mitigate each other's effect, thus increasing the informational efficiency