bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Determinants of Corporate Leasing Policy
Authors: SMITH CLIFFORD W. , WAKEMAN L. MACDONALD
Published: April 2012

The existing finance literature assumes the real operating cash flows from leasing or owning are invariant to the ownership of the asset and focuses on tax‐related incentives for corporate leasing policy. Our analysis suggests that taxes are important in identifying potential lessees and lessors, but are less important in identifying the specific assets leased. We provide a unified analysis of the various incentives affecting the lease‐versus‐purchase decision. We then show how these incentives explain the use of contractual provisions such as maintenance clauses, deposits, options to purchase the asset, and metering.
The Usefulness of the Wind‐Up Measure of Pension Liabilities: A Labor Market Perspective
Authors: PESANDO JAMES E.
Published: April 2012

Financial economists have long favored the use of a wind‐up measure of the firm's pension liabilities. Yet the pension liabilities of the firm also represent the pension wealth of its workers. It is reasonable to presume that workers and shareholders have a common view of the pension contract. If the wind‐up measure depicts the true pension liabilities of the firm, then the wage concession granted by its workers must reflect the fact that the firm may choose to terminate the plan at any time. Data on the wage‐service characteristics of the membership of a sample of final earnings plans in Canada suggest, contrary to the implications of the wind‐up measure, that workers' wages do not internalize accruing pension benefits on a year‐to‐year basis. Instead, the data suggest that pension plans may be a vehicle through which a significant portion of the total compensation of individual employees is deferred until their later work years, and that the wind‐up measure may well understate the pension liabilities of an on‐going firm.
An Analysis of Divestiture Effects Resulting from Deregulation
Authors: CHEN ANDREW H. , MERVILLE LARRY J.
Published: April 2012

Capital market data were used to examine the divestiture effects pertaining to deregulation, the dropping of antitrust charges, and the reversing of the co‐insurance effect associated with the recent breakup of AT&T. The empirical results of the study indicate that significant economic events took place during the breakup process, which led to transfers of wealth from various parties to the securityholders of AT&T. The results also indicate that the buffering effect of regulation was reduced as AT&T went through the total deregulation process. This is in accordance with Peltzman's prediction.
A Theory of Trading Volume
Authors: KARPOFF JONATHAN M.
Published: April 2012

A theory of trading volume is developed based on assumptions that market agents frequently revise their demand prices and randomly encounter potential trading partners. The model describes two distinct ways informational events affect trading volume. One is consistent with conjectures made by empirical researchers that investor disagreement leads to increased trading. But the observation of abnormal trading volume does not necessarily imply disagreement, and volume can increase even if investors interpret the information identically, if they also have had divergent prior expectations. Simulation tests support the model and are used to contrast the random‐pairing environment with costless market clearing. Volume is lower in the costly market, and volume increases caused by an informational event persist after the event period. This is consistent with existing empirical evidence and suggests that markets do not immediately clear all orders or that investors have demands to recontract.
Asymmetric Information and Risky Debt Maturity Choice
Authors: FLANNERY MARK J.
Published: April 2012

When capital market investors and firm insiders possess the same information about a company's prospects, its liabilities will be priced in a way that makes the firm indifferent to the composition of its financial liabilities (at least under certain, well‐known circumstances). However, if firm insiders are systematically better informed than outside investors, they will choose to issue those types of securities that the market appears to overvalue most. Knowing this, rational investors will try to infer the insiders' information from the firm's financial structure. This paper evaluates the extent to which a firm's choice of risky debt maturity can signal insiders' information about firm quality. If financial market transactions are costless, a firm's financial structure cannot provide a valid signal. With positive transaction costs, however, high‐quality firms can sometimes effectively signal their true quality to the market. The existence of a signalling equilibrium is shown to depend on the (exogenous) distribution of firms' quality and the magnitude of underwriting costs for corporate debt.
Informational Efficiency and Information Subsets
Authors: LATHAM MARK
Published: April 2012

This paper proposes a new definition of the Efficient Markets Hypothesis with respect to information, which is more formal and precise than those of Rubinstein [13], Fama [4], Jensen [6], and Beaver [1], and which fits well as a framework for interpreting the many tests of the Efficient Markets Hypothesis in the literature. Security markets are here considered “efficient with respect to information set ϕ” if and only if revealing ϕ to all agents would change neither equilibrium prices nor portfolios. In addition to other desirable features, this definition has the “subset property”: efficiency with respect to ϕ implies efficiency with respect to any subset of ϕ.
A Defense of Traditional Hypotheses about the Term Structure of Interest Rates
Authors: CAMPBELL JOHN Y.
Published: April 2012

Expectations theories of asset returns may be interpreted either as stating that risk premia are zero or that they are constant through time. Under the former interpretation, different versions of the expectations theory of the term structure are inconsistent with one another, but I show that this does not necessarily carry over to the constant risk premium interpretation of the theory. I present a general equilibrium example in which different types of risk premium are constant through time and dependent only on maturity. Furthermore, I argue that differences among expectations theories are second‐order effects of bond yield variability. I develop an approximate linearized framework for analysis of the term structure in which these differences disappear, and I test its accuracy in practice using data from the CRSP government bond tapes.
Valuation and Optimal Exercise of the Wild Card Option in the Treasury Bond Futures Market
Authors: KANE ALEX , MARCUS ALAN J.
Published: April 2012

The Chicago Board of Trade Treasury Bond Futures Contract allows the short position several delivery options as to when and with which bond the contract will be settled. The timing option allows the short position to choose any business day in the delivery month to make delivery. In addition, the contract settlement price is locked in at 2:00 p.m. when the futures market closes, despite the facts that the short position need not declare an intent to settle the contract until 8:00 p.m. and that trading in Treasury bonds can occur all day in dealer markets. If bond prices change significantly between 2:00 and 8:00 p.m., the short has the option of settling the contract at a favorable 2:00 p.m. price. This phenomenon, which recurs on every trading day of the delivery month, creates a sequence of 6‐hour put options for the short position which has been dubbed the “wild card option.” This paper presents a valuation model for the wild card option and computes estimates of the value of that option, as well as rules for its optimal exercise.
Inflation, Uncertainty, and Investment
Authors: BALDWIN CARLISS Y. , RUBACK RICHARD S.
Published: April 2012

This paper investigates the effect of inflation on a firm's investments in fixed assets. When future prices are certain, inflation affects the present value of depreciation tax shields, and the impact of inflation on the choice between different lived assets is nonmonotonic. Future asset price uncertainty creates a valuable switching option and benefits shorter‐lived assets.
The Timing and Substance of Divestiture Announcements: Individual, Simultaneous and Cumulative Effects
Authors: KLEIN APRIL
Published: April 2012

This paper examines differences in announcement day effects among firms engaged in voluntary sell‐offs. While, on average, an initial sell‐off announcement results in a significant positive excess return, not all divestiture announcements are accompanied by positive price movements. Dividing the sample into two subsamples based on whether the transaction price is announced shows that the announcement day effect is significantly positive for the price group but not statistically different from zero for the no‐price group. In addition, a positive relation is found between the relative size of the sell‐off and the announcement day return.
Optimal Portfolio Choice Under Incomplete Information
Authors: GENNOTTE GERARD
Published: April 2012

Models of asset pricing generally assume that the variables which characterize the state of the economy are observable. However, the distributional properties of asset prices that are relevant for portfolio decisions are in general not observable, and therefore must be estimated. The estimation of expected returns is a particularly difficult problem and estimation errors are likely to be substantial. In this light, it is reasonable to examine whether the assumption of observability of expected returns and other relevant state variables causes significant mis‐specification in equilibrium models of asset prices. This paper has three main objectives: first, to derive optimal estimators for the unobservable expected instantaneous returns using observations of past realized returns; second, to establish that estimation and portfolio choice can be solved in two separate steps; third, to analyze the impact of estimation error on investment choices. The estimators of expected returns are in general not consistent, i.e., the estimation error does not tend to disappear asymptotically. The effects of the estimation error, therefore, cannot be ignored even if realized returns are observed continuously over an infinite time period.
Sample‐Dependent Results Using Accounting and Market Data: Some Evidence
Authors: BANZ ROLF W. , BREEN WILLIAM J.
Published: April 2012

Studies relating accounting and price data often use the COMPUSTAT or related PDE data base as the source for the accounting data. This practice may introduce a look‐ahead bias and an ex‐post‐selection bias into the study. We examine this problem by comparing results from the standard COMPUSTAT data base with those from a data base which suffers from neither bias. We find that rates of return from portfolios chosen on the basis of accounting data from the two data bases differ significantly. Further, we find that these differences imply different conclusions when we test a specific hypothesis relating accounting and price data. Finally, we propose a number of remedies which may reduce the bias when the standard COMPUSTAT data base is used.
A Model of International Asset Pricing with a Constraint on the Foreign Equity Ownership
Authors: EUN CHEOL S. , JANAKIRAMANAN S.
Published: April 2012

This paper derives a closed‐form valuation model in a two‐country world in which the domestic investors are constrained to own at most a fraction, δ, of the number of shares outstanding of the foreign firms. When the “δ constraint” is binding, two different prices rule in the foreign securities market, reflecting the premium offered by the domestic investors over the price under no constraints and the discount demanded by the foreign investors. The premium is shown to be a multiple of the discount, the multiple being the ratio of the aggregate risk aversion of the domestic and foreign investors. Given the aggregate risk‐aversion parameters, the equilibrium premium and discount are determined by the severity of the δ constraint and the “pure” foreign market risk.
The Relationship between Arbitrage and First Order Stochastic Dominance
Authors: JARROW ROBERT
Published: April 2012

This paper joins together two fields of research in financial economics. The first field studies stochastic dominance, while the second field studies arbitrage pricing. The two fields are linked together through the derivation and the proof of a characterization theorem. The characterization theorem gives necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of arbitrage opportunities in terms of the existence of two assets, one of which first order stochastically dominates the other and the price of a particular contingent claim. Examples are provided to demonstrate the theorem's content.
International Arbitrage Pricing Theory: An Empirical Investigation
Authors: CHO D. CHINHYUNG , EUN CHEOL S. , SENBET LEMMA W.
Published: April 2012

In this paper, we test the arbitrage pricing theory (APT) in an international setting. Inter‐battery factor analysis is used to estimate the international common factors and the Chow test is used in testing the validity of the APT. Our inter‐battery factor analysis results show that the number of common factors between a pair of countries ranges from one to five, and our cross‐sectional test results lead us to reject the joint hypothesis that the international capital market is integrated and that the APT is internationally valid. Our results, however, do not rule out the possibility that the APT holds locally or regionally in segmented capital markets. Finally, the basic results of both the inter‐battery factor analysis and the cross‐sectional tests are largely invariant to the numeraire currency chosen.
On the Number of Factors in the Arbitrage Pricing Model
Authors: TRZCINKA CHARLES
Published: April 2012

Recent theory has demonstrated that the Arbitrage Pricing Model with K factors critically depends on whether K eigenvalues dominate the covariance matrix of returns as the number of securities grows large. The purpose of this paper is to test whether sample covariance matrices can be characterized as having K large eigenvalues. Using all available data on the 1983 CRSP tapes, we compute sample covariance matrices of returns in sequentially larger portfolios of securities. Analyzing their eigenvalues, we find evidence that one eigenvalue dominates the covariance matrix indicating that a one‐factor model may describe security pricing. We also find that, for values of K larger than one, there is no obvious way to choose the number of factors. Nevertheless, we find that while only the first eigenvalue dominates the matrix, the first five eigenvalues are growing more distinct.
Deposit Insurance and the Discount Window: Pricing under Asymmetric Information
Authors: KANATAS GEORGE
Published: April 2012

The risk‐sensitive pricing of deposit insurance and the discount window is determined in an environment where banks have private information concerning their financial conditions. The two facilities are managed jointly; an incentive‐compatible policy is designed such that banks' choice of terms at which they can obtain insurance and access to discount window credit will reveal their asset quality. The function of the discount window is to be a risk‐neutral “lender of last resort” to banks in a market dominated by risk‐averse depositors.
Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection: The Question of Financial Structure
Authors: DARROUGH MASAKO N. , STOUGHTON NEAL M.
Published: April 2012

This paper looks at the moral hazard and adverse selection problems confronting an entrepreneur offering securities to an uninformed, but competitive financial market. The adverse selection aspect of the problem is generated by the unobservable entrepreneur's ability to transform effort into value. Moral hazard arises because the investment decision is made subsequent to financing. We consider the joint use of both debt and equity, and characterize the equilibrium relation between capital structure and unobservable attributes. It is shown that: (1) investment and financing are not separable; (2) there is an underinvestment problem for “better” firms; and (3) simultaneous use of both debt and equity can resolve this difficulty. We also establish a connection between expected terminal firm value and debt‐promised payment level and between share retention and standard deviation.
Perquisites, Risk, and Capital Structure
Authors: WILLIAMS JOSEPH
Published: April 2012

In a corporate agency problem, perquisites and risk interact to produce novel, complex comparative statics. For example, even if additional debt induces risk‐neutral insiders to increase risk, they never seek to increase the market value of their stock; instead, insiders decrease the present value of their subsequent, conditionally optimal perquisites. Also, the firm's optimal capital structure includes a risky bond with an agreement to remove insiders whenever the bond defaults. However, the optimal sharing rule between corporate claimants cannot be supported solely by standard securities such as bonds, stocks, options, and their hybrids.
An Analysis of Yield Curve Notes
Authors: OGDEN JOSEPH P.
Published: April 2012

This paper analyzes a new type of security, the yield curve note, which pays interest at a rate that varies inversely with short‐term interest rates. A valuation model for yield curve notes is presented, the parameters of the model are estimated empirically, and the estimated model is used to explore, in simulation, the price behavior and risk characteristics of yield curve notes in comparison with fixed‐rate notes. The risk of a yield curve note is approximately twice as great as a fixed‐rate note with the same maturity. The unique risk characteristics of yield curve notes make them useful (as liabilities) in immunization strategies for financial institutions. Their usefulness in this regard may be the chief rationale for their development.
Nonsynchronous Security Trading and Market Index Autocorrelation
Authors: ATCHISON MICHAEL D. , BUTLER KIRT C. , SIMONDS RICHARD R.
Published: April 2012

The theoretical portfolio autocorrelation due solely to nonsynchronous trading is estimated from a derived model. This estimated level is found to be substantially less than that observed empirically. The theoretical and empirical relationship between portfolio size and autocorrelation also is investigated. The results of this study suggest that other price‐adjustment delay factors in addition to nonsynchronous trading cause the high autocorrelations present in daily returns on stock index portfolios.
The Puzzle in Post‐Listing Common Stock Returns
Authors: McCONNELL JOHN J. , SANGER GARY C.
Published: April 2012

Prior studies indicate that common stocks tend to earn negative returns immediately following listing on the NYSE. The authors document the phenomenon in detail and investigate a number of possible explanations. No full explanation is discovered, although several are ruled out.
Tests of Asset Pricing with Time‐Varying Expected Risk Premiums and Market Betas
Authors: FERSON WAYNE E. , KANDEL SHMUEL , STAMBAUGH ROBERT F.
Published: April 2012

Tests of asset‐pricing models are developed that allow expected risk premiums and market betas to vary over time. These tests exploit the relation between expected excess returns and current market values. Using weekly data for 1963 through 1982 on ten common stock portfolios formed according to equity capitalization, a single‐risk‐premium model is not rejected if the expected premium is time varying and is not constrained to correspond to a market factor. Conditional mean‐variance efficiency of a value‐weighted stock index is rejected, and the rejection is insensitive to how much variability of expected risk premiums is assumed.
Nonsynchronous Data and the Covariance‐Factor Structure of Returns
Authors: SHANKEN JAY
Published: April 2012

Evidence is presented that indicates that the standard estimator of the covariance matrix of daily returns provides a distorted view of the true covariance‐factor structure. An alternative estimator, based on a model of the price‐adjustment delay process, reveals roughly twice as much covariation in individual security returns. The number of factors identified also appears to increase when this estimator is employed. Since the linear space spanned by the estimated factor‐loading vectors is quite sensitive to the estimator used, it is important that the consistent estimator be considered in the usual two‐stage empirical investigations of the APT.
Mutual Fund Performance Evaluation: A Comparison of Benchmarks and Benchmark Comparisons
Authors: LEHMANN BRUCE N. , MODEST DAVID M.
Published: April 2012

The authors' main goal in this paper is to ascertain whether conventional measures of abnormal mutual fund performance are sensitive to the benchmark chosen to measure normal performance. They employ the standard CAPM benchmarks and a variety of APT benchmarks to investigate this question. They find little similarity between the absolute and relative mutual fund rankings obtained from these alternative benchmarks, which suggests the importance of knowing the appropriate model for risk and return in this context. In addition, the rankings are not insensitive to the method used to construct the APT benchmark. Finally, they find statistically significant measured abnormal performance using all the benchmarks. The economic explanation for this phenomenon appears to be an open question.
The Pricing of Options on Assets with Stochastic Volatilities
Authors: HULL JOHN , WHITE ALAN
Published: April 2012

One option‐pricing problem that has hitherto been unsolved is the pricing of a European call on an asset that has a stochastic volatility. This paper examines this problem. The option price is determined in series form for the case in which the stochastic volatility is independent of the stock price. Numerical solutions are also produced for the case in which the volatility is correlated with the stock price. It is found that the Black‐Scholes price frequently overprices options and that the degree of overpricing increases with the time to maturity.
Efficient Analytic Approximation of American Option Values
Authors: BARONE‐ADESI GIOVANNI , WHALEY ROBERT E.
Published: April 2012

This paper provides simple, analytic approximations for pricing exchange‐traded American call and put options written on commodities and commodity futures contracts. These approximations are accurate and considerably more computationally efficient than finite‐difference, binomial, or compound‐option pricing methods.
A Multiproduct Cost Study of Savings and Loans
Authors: MESTER LORETTA J.
Published: April 2012

This paper investigates the cost structure of savings and loans. Most studies of financial institutions have failed to take into account the multiproduct nature of these institutions. Using the multiproduct approach, the existence of subadditivity, multiproduct global and product‐specific economies of scale and scope, and substitutability between inputs is investigated. A translogarithmic cost function is estimated using 1982 data on California savings and loans. Restrictive functional forms also estimated are rejected. Standard errors for the statistics calculated are estimated, and various statistical tests are conducted. Previous authors have not calculated standard errors for these statistics. No evidence of subadditivity in the industry is found.
Trade Credit and Informational Asymmetry
Authors: SMITH JANET KIHOLM
Published: April 2012

Commonly used trade credit terms implicitly define a high interest rate that operates as an efficient screening device where information about buyer default risk is asymmetrically held. By offering trade credit, a seller can identify prospective defaults more quickly than if financial institutions were the sole providers of short‐term financing. The information is valuable in cases where the seller has made nonsalvageable investments in buyers since it enables the seller to take actions to protect such investments.
The Pricing Effects of Interfirm Cash Tender Offers
Authors: BHAGAT SANJAI , BRICKLEY JAMES A. , LOEWENSTEIN URI
Published: April 2012

The tools provided by option‐pricing theory are used to examine the wealth effects of interfirm cash tender offers. The analysis provides evidence consistent with the “synergy” theory of corporate takeovers and has implications concerning the economic effects of regulations of cash tender offers. The analysis further suggests that the market prices information uncertainty in a manner not captured by the standard Capital Asset Pricing Model. The study introduces a technique for unbundling the prices of a primary asset and a contingent claim when only the prices of the combination are observed.
Lease Valuation When Taxable Earnings Are a Scarce Resource
Authors: FRANKS JULIAN R. , HODGES STEWART D.
Published: April 2012

In this paper, we examine leasing as a tax‐arbitrage instrument. Analysis of a sample of UK leases presented in this paper suggests that lessors earn large positive NPVs. Our theoretical model seeks to explain these positive NPVs in terms of a market price for a scarce resource that we identify as scarce taxable earnings. Using these prices, the model permits a lessor to determine whether the profitability of a proposed set of lease contracts can be improved by writing a different set of contracts that makes better use of the lessor's taxable earnings. There may be two reasons why an initial portfolio of contracts may be suboptimal. Either there may be clienteles or the leasing market may be inefficient. Subsequently, we discuss reasons why the leasing market may be characterized by clienteles, and, using two different samples of leases, we test whether the leasing market is segmented and efficient.
Order Arrival, Quote Behavior, and the Return‐Generating Process
Authors: HASBROUCK JOEL , HO THOMAS S. Y.
Published: April 2012

This paper establishes three empirical results. We find positive autocorrelation in actual intra‐day stock returns, in intra‐day returns computed from quote midpoints, and in the arrival of buy and sell orders. We present a model of return generation that incorporates these features via lagged adjustment of the limit‐order price and positive dependence in bid and ask transactions. The return model is observationally equivalent to an ARMA process, which is consistent with the observed return behavior.
Arbitrage, Continuous Trading, and Margin Requirements
Authors: HEATH DAVID C. , JARROW ROBERT A.
Published: April 2012

This paper studies the impact that margin requirements have on both the existence of arbitrage opportunities and the valuation of call options. In the context of the Black‐Scholes economy, margin restrictions are shown to exclude continuous‐trading arbitrage opportunities and, with two additional hypotheses, still to allow the Black‐Scholes call model to apply. The Black‐Scholes economy consists of a continuously traded stock with a price process that follows a geometric Brownian motion and a continuously traded bond with a price process that is deterministic.
Efficient Financing under Asymmetric Information
Authors: BRENNAN MICHAEL , KRAUS ALAN
Published: April 2012

This paper characterizes the conditions under which the adverse‐selection problem, which may prevent a firm from issuing securities to finance an otherwise profitable investment, may be costlessly overcome by an appropriate choice of financing strategy. The conditions are specialized when the information asymmetry may be characterized by either a first‐degree‐stochastic‐dominance or a mean‐preserving‐spread ordering across possible distributions of firm earnings. Possible financing strategies that resolve the information asymmetry are discussed, and the results are related to recent empirical findings concerning security issues.
Debt Management under Corporate and Personal Taxation
Authors: MAUER DAVID C. , LEWELLEN WILBUR G.
Published: April 2012

The presence of long‐term debt in a corporation's capital structure is shown to give rise to a valuable tax‐timing option that can be exercised by the firm on behalf of its shareholders. This option, which is not available if the firm is fully equity financed, implies that leverage will have a positive tax effect on total firm value even if there is no such effect associated with the tax deductibility of the coupon interest payments on debt. The more volatile interest rates and bond prices are, the more valuable the tax‐timing option and the larger the favorable impact of debt on shareholder wealth.
Further Evidence On Investor Overreaction and Stock Market Seasonality
Authors: De BONDT WERNER F. M. , THALER RICHARD H.
Published: April 2012

In a previous paper, we found systematic price reversals for stocks that experience extreme long‐term gains or losses: Past losers significantly outperform past winners. We interpreted this finding as consistent with the behavioral hypothesis of investor overreaction. In this follow‐up paper, additional evidence is reported that supports the overreaction hypothesis and that is inconsistent with two alternative hypotheses based on firm size and differences in risk, as measured by CAPM‐betas. The seasonal pattern of returns is also examined. Excess returns in January are related to both short‐term and long‐term past performance, as well as to the previous year market return.
Credit Granting: A Comparative Analysis of Classification Procedures
Authors: SRINIVASAN VENKAT , KIM YONG H.
Published: April 2012

Financial classification issues, and particularly the financial distress problem, continue to be subject to vigorous investigation. The corporate credit granting process has not received as much attention in the literature. This paper examines the relative effectiveness of parametric, nonparametric and judgemental classification procedures on a sample of corporate credit data. The judgemental model is based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process. Evidence indicates that (nonparametric) recursive partitioning methods provide greater information than simultaneous partitioning procedures. The judgemental model is found to perform as well as statistical models. A complementary relationship is proposed between the statistical and the judgemental models as an effective paradigm for granting credit.
Gains from International Diversification: 1968–85 Returns on Portfolios of Stocks and Bonds
Authors: GRAUER ROBERT R. , HAKANSSON NILS H.
Published: April 2012

This paper applies the multi‐period investment model to a universe of international securities on the basis of the simple probability assessment approach. Our principal findings are: 1) the gains from including non‐U.S. asset categories in the universe were remarkably large (in some cases statistically significant), especially for the highly risk‐averse strategies, 2) the gains from removing the no leverage constraint were more substantial than they were in the absence of non‐U.S. securities, and 3) there is strong evidence of market segmentation in that the optimal levels of investment in U.S. securities were mostly zero in the presence of the non‐U.S. asset categories.
The Determinants of Capital Structure Choice
Authors: TITMAN SHERIDAN , WESSELS ROBERTO
Published: April 2012

This paper analyzes the explanatory power of some of the recent theories of optimal capital structure. The study extends empirical work on capital structure theory in three ways. First, it examines a much broader set of capital structure theories, many of which have not previously been analyzed empirically. Second, since the theories have different empirical implications in regard to different types of debt instruments, the authors analyze measures of short‐term, long‐term, and convertible debt rather than an aggregate measure of total debt. Third, the study uses a factor‐analytic technique that mitigates the measurement problems encountered when working with proxy variables.
A Simple Algorithm for the Portfolio Selection Problem
Authors: LEWIS ALAN L.
Published: April 2012

The author presents a rapidly convergent algorithm to solve the general portfolio problem of maximizing concave utility functions subject to linear constraints. The algorithm is based on an iterative use of the Markowitz critical line method for solving quadratic programs. A simple example, taken from the theory of state‐contingent claims, is worked out in detail. For technical convergence results, the reader is referred to the appropriate mathematical programming literature.
On the Optimal Hedge of a Nontraded Cash Position
Authors: ADLER MICHAEL , DETEMPLE JÉRÔME B.
Published: April 2012

In this paper, we focus on the optimal demand for futures contracts by an investor with a logarithmic utility function who attempts to hedge a nontraded cash position. When the analysis is conducted in the “cash‐commodity‐price” space, we show that the value function associated with the Bernoulli investor program is not additively separable, thus suggesting that this investor hedges against shifts in the opportunity set as represented by the commodity price. By establishing the equivalence between the cash formulation of the problem and the wealth formulation, we are able to analyze the problem in the “wealth‐commodity‐price” space. In this space, we show the additive separability of the value function when the futures settlement price process is perfectly locally correlated with the commodity price process. The demand for futures in this instance is composed of (a) a mean‐variance term and (b) a minimum‐variance component that is a classic feature of models with nontraded assets. Since the first‐best (nonmyopic) optimum is attained, however, the deviation from a mean‐variance demand should not be interpreted as the expression of a nonmyopic behavior but rather as an attempt to restore a first‐best optimum. On the other hand, when the correlation between the futures price and the underlying commodity price is imperfect, in general, the value function does not separate additively, the first‐best solution cannot be attained, and the optimal futures trading strategy involves a hedging term against shifts in the opportunity set.
Anatomy of Initial Public Offerings of Common Stock
Authors: TINIÇ SEHA M.
Published: April 2012

Initial public offerings of common stocks (IPOs) are typically underpriced. In this paper, the author develops and tests the hypothesis that underpricing serves as a form of insurance against legal liability and the associated damages to the reputations of investment bankers. The empirical results based on samples of IPOs that were brought to the market before and after the Securities Act of 1933 provide considerable support for the implicit insurance hypothesis. Specifically, gross underpricing and market segmentation between prestigious and fringe investment bankers in originating unseasoned new issues appear to be peculiar to the post‐1933 era.
The Implications of Nonmarketable Income for Consumption‐Based Models of Asset Pricing
Authors: BROWN DAVID P.
Published: April 2012

A new representation of nonmarketable (NM) income is introduced in this essay. Using this representation and continuous trading, there exists a set of individuals who do not participate in the asset market and who consume at the rate of nonmarketable income derived from human capital. Because these individuals remain nonparticipants for a range of stochastic processes governing the NM income, consumption betas are not generally unique in value and the consumption‐based CAPM (CCAPM) does not obtain. However, the intertemporal CAPM (ICAPM) of Merton remains valid.
Was It Real? The Exchange Rate‐Interest Differential Relation over the Modern Floating‐Rate Period
Authors: MEESE RICHARD , ROGOFP KENNETH
Published: April 2012

In this paper, we explore the relationship between real exchange rates and real interest rate differentials in the United States, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Contrary to theories based on the joint hypothesis that domestic prices are sticky and monetary disturbances are predominant, we find little evidence of a stable relationship between real interest rates and real exchange rates. We consider both in‐sample and out‐of‐sample tests. One hypothesis that is consistent with our findings is that real disturbances (such as productivity shocks) may be a major source of exchange rate volatility.
Firm Characteristics, Unanticipated Inflation, and Stock Returns
Authors: PEARCE DOUGLAS K. , ROLEY V. VANCE
Published: April 2012

This paper re‐examines the effects of nominal contracts on the relationship between unanticipated inflation and an individual stock's rate of return. This study differs in three main ways from previous research. First, announced inflation data are used to examine the effects of unanticipated inflation. Second, a different specification is used to obtain more efficient estimates. Third, additional nominal contracts are considered. The empirical results indicate that time‐varying firm characteristics related to inflation predominately determine the effect of unanticipated inflation on a stock's rate of return. A firm's debt‐equity ratio appears to be particularly important in determining the response.
An Empirical Test of the Impact of Managerial Self‐Interest on Corporate Capital Structure
Authors: FRIEND IRWIN , LANG LARRY H. P.
Published: April 2012

This paper provides a test of whether capital structure decisions are at least in part motivated by managerial self‐interest. It is shown that the debt ratio is negatively related to management's shareholding, reflecting the greater nondiversifiable risk of debt to management than to public investors for maintaining a low debt ratio. Unless there is a nonmanagerial principal stockholder, no substantial increase of debt can be realized, which may suggest that the existence of large nonmanagerial stockholders might make the interests of managers and public investors coincide.
The Effect of Taxes and Depreciation on Corporate Investment and Financial Leverage
Authors: DAMMON ROBERT M. , SENBET LEMMA W.
Published: April 2012

This paper provides an analysis of the effect of corporate and personal taxes on the firm's optimal investment and financing decisions under uncertainty. It extends the DeAngelo and Masulis capital structure model by endogenizing the firm's investment decision. The authors' results indicate that, when investment is allowed to adjust optimally, the existing predictions about the relationship between investment‐related and debt‐related tax shields must be modified. In particular, the authors show that increases in investment‐related tax shields due to changes in the corporate tax code are not necessarily associated with reductions in leverage at the individual firm level. In cross‐sectional analysis, firms with higher investment‐related tax shields (normalized by expected earnings) need not have lower debt‐related tax shields (normalized by expected earnings) unless all firms utilize the same production technology. Differences in production technologies across firms may thus explain why the empirical results of recent cross‐sectional studies have not conformed to the predictions of DeAngelo and Masulis.
Loan Sales and the Cost of Bank Capital
Authors: PENNACCHI GEORGE G.
Published: April 2012

This paper considers a model where banks may improve the returns on loans by monitoring borrowers. Bank regulation, together with competitive deposit and equity financing, can give banks an incentive to sell loans, but the extent of their loan selling is limited by a moral‐hazard problem. A solution is given for the optimal design of the bank‐loan buyer contract that alleviates this moral‐hazard problem. An explanation is also given as to why some banks might buy loans and why loan sales volume has recently increased.
A Generalized Econometric Model and Tests of a Signalling Hypothesis with Two Discrete Signals
Authors: ACHARYA* SANKARSHAN
Published: April 2012

To test the major prediction of a signalling hypothesis‐that the market price is monotonic in the signal‐the price response to the signal must be measured. Since a signal is an outcome of a rational decision rule of the signaller, the market can infer the true type of the signaller from the signal. This necessitates estimation of the price response to the signal, conditional on the rational decision rule. Thus, the empirical models (e.g., event studies in corporate finance) that estimate the market price responses to signals without conditioning on the rational decision rules are misspecified if viewed as tests of the prediction of a signalling hypothesis. This paper builds a generalized econometric model with two possible discrete signals, derives the rational decision rules, presents a simple estimator of the price response to a signal, and illustrates its use in testing a recently expounded hypothesis that firms signal their true value by forcing or not forcing an outstanding convertible bond.
From T‐Bills to Common Stocks: Investigating the Generality of Intra‐Week Return Seasonality
Authors: FLANNERY MARK J. , PROTOPAPADAKIS ARIS A.
Published: April 2012

The authors investigate the extent to which intra‐week seasonality still exists and whether its pattern is uniform across three stock indices and Treasury bonds with seven different maturities. They find that intra‐week seasonality continues to be significant and that its pattern is not uniform, either between the stock indices and the Treasury bonds or even among the bonds alone. A pattern shared by stocks and bonds is that Monday returns become increasingly negative with maturity. These findings suggest that neither institutional nor general‐equilibriumex planations by themselves can explain the pattern of intra‐week seasonality in securities markets.
Debt/Equity Ratio and Expected Common Stock Returns: Empirical Evidence
Authors: BHANDARI LAXMI CHAND
Published: April 2012

The expected common stock returns are positively related to the ratio of debt (noncommon equity liabilities) to equity, controlling for the beta and firm size and including as well as excluding January, though the relation is much larger in January. This relationship is not sensitive to variations in the market proxy, estimation technique, etc. The evidence suggests that the “premium” associated with the debt/equity ratio is not likely to be just some kind of “risk premium”.
R2
Authors: ROLL RICHARD
Published: April 2012

Even with hindsight, the ability to explain stock price changes is modest. s were calculated for the returns of large stocks as explained by systematic economic influences, by the returns on other stocks in the same industry, and by public firm‐specific news events. The average adjusted is only about .35 with monthly data and .20 with daily data. There is little relation between explanatory power and either the firm's size or its industry. There is little improvement in from eliminating all dates surrounding news reports in the financial press. However, the sample kurtosis is quite different when such news events are eliminated, thereby revealing a mixture of return distributions. Non‐news dates also indicate the presence of a distributional mixture, perhaps due to traders acting on private information.
Corporate Finance and Corporate Governance
Authors: WILLIAMSON OLIVER E.
Published: April 2012

A combined treatment of corporate finance and corporate governance is herein proposed. Debt and equity are treated not mainly as alternative financial instruments, but rather as alternative governance structures. Debt governance works mainly out of rules, while equity governance allows much greater discretion. A project‐financing approach is adopted. I argue that whether a project should be financed by debt or by equity depends principally on the characteristics of the assets. Transaction‐cost reasoning supports the use of debt (rules) to finance redeployable assets, while non‐redeployable assets are financed by equity (discretion). Experiences with leasing and leveraged buyouts are used to illustrate the argument. The article also compares and contrasts the transaction‐cost approach with the agency approach to the study of economic organization.
Liquidity and Market Structure
Authors: GROSSMAN SANFORD J. , MILLER MERTON H.
Published: April 2012

Market liquidity is modeled as being determined by the demand and supply of immediacy. Exogenous liquidity events coupled with the risk of delayed trade create a demand for immediacy. Market makers supply immediacy by their continuous presence and willingness to bear risk during the time period between the arrival of final buyers and sellers. In the long run the number of market makers adjusts to equate the supply and demand for immediacy. This determines the equilibrium level of liquidity in the market. The lower is the autocorrelation in rates of return, the higher is the equilibrium level of liquidity.
Information and Volatility: The No‐Arbitrage Martingale Approach to Timing and Resolution Irrelevancy
Authors: ROSS STEPHEN A.
Published: April 2012

The no‐arbitrage martingale analysis is used to study the effect on asset prices of changes in the rate of information flow. The analysis is first used to develop some simple tools for asset pricing in a continuous‐time setting. These tools are then applied to determine the effect of information on prices and price volatility, to extend Samuelson's theorem on prices fluctuating randomly, and to study the impact on prices of the resolution of uncertainty. The conditions under which uncertainty resolution is irrelevant for asset pricing are shown to be similar to those which support the MM irrelevance theorems.
Preemptive Bidding and the Role of the Medium of Exchange in Acquisitions
Authors: FISHMAN MICHAEL J.
Published: April 2012

The medium of exchange in acquisitions is studied in a model where (i) bidders' offers bring forth potential competition and (ii) targets and bidders are asymmetrically informed. In equilibrium, both securities and cash offers are observed. Securities have the advantage of inducing target management to make an efficient accept/reject decision. Cash has the advantage of serving, in equilibrium, to “preempt” competition by signaling a high valuation for the target. Implications concerning the medium of exchange of an offer, the probability of acceptance, the probability of competing bids, expected profits, and the costs of bidders are derived.
Inferring the Components of the Bid‐Ask Spread: Theory and Empirical Tests
Authors: STOLL HANS R.
Published: April 2012

The relation between the square of the quoted bid‐ask spread and two serial covariances—the serial covariance of transaction returns and the serial covariance of quoted returns—is modeled as a function of the probability of a price reversal, π, and the magnitude of a price change, ∂, where ∂ is stated as a fraction of the quoted spread. Different models of the spread are contrasted in terms of the parameters, π and ∂. Using data on the transaction prices and price quotations for NASDAQ/NMS stocks, π and ∂ are estimated and the relative importance of the components of the quoted spread—adverse information costs, order processing costs, and inventory holding costs—is determined.
An Exact Bond Option Formula
Authors: JAMSHIDIAN FARSHID
Published: April 2012

This paper derives a closed‐form solution for European options on pure discount bonds, assuming a mean‐reverting Gaussian interest rate model as in Vasicek [8]. The formula is extended to European options on discount bond portfolios.
Order Imbalances and Stock Price Movements on October 19 and 20, 1987
Authors: BLUME MARSHALL E. , MACKINLAY A. CRAIG , TERKER BRUCE
Published: April 2012

On October 19, 1987, NYSE stocks in the S&P index declined seven percentage points more than NYSE stocks not in this index. In the first hour of trading on October 20, the S&P stocks virtually recovered to the level of the non‐S&P stocks. There is a strong relation between order imbalances and stock price movements, both in analyses of time series and cross‐sections. Thus, in addition to the breakdown in the linkage between future prices and the spot index on these two days, there were also breakdowns in the linkage among NYSE stocks.