We introduce a new method of varying risk that bidders face in first-price and second-price private value auctions. We find that decreasing bidders’ risk in first-price auction reduces the degree of overbidding relative to the risk-neutral Bayesian-Nash equilibrium prediction. This finding is consistent with the risk-aversion explanation of overbidding. Furthermore, we apply the method to secon...

We introduce a new method of varying risk that bidders face in first-price and second-price private value auctions. We find that decreasing bidders’ risk in first-price auction reduces the degree of overbidding relative to the risk-neutral Bayesian Nash equilibrium prediction. This finding is consistent with the risk-aversion explanation of overbidding. Furthermore, we apply the method to secon...

This paper analyzes the e¤ects of buyer and seller risk aversion in …rst and secondprice auctions. The setting is the classic one of symmetric and independent private values, with ex ante homogeneous bidders. However, the seller is able to optimally set the reserve price. In both auctions the seller’s optimal reserve price is shown to decrease in his own risk aversion, and more so in the …rst-p...

We solve a Pareto risk-sharing problem with heterogeneous agents with recursive utility over multiple goods. We use this optimal consumption allocation to derive a pricing kernel and the price of oil and related futures contracts. This gives us insight into the dynamics of risk premia in commodity markets for oil. As an example, in a calibrated version of our model we show how rising oil prices...

This paper analyzes the e¤ects of buyer and seller risk aversion in …rst and secondprice auctions. The setting is the classic one of symmetric and independent private values, with ex ante homogeneous bidders. However, the seller is able to optimally set the reserve price. In both auctions the seller’s optimal reserve price is shown to decrease in his own risk aversion, and more so in the …rst-p...

Disclosures play an apparently critical role in the empirical regularity of the short-run momentum and long-run reversal in stock returns. Motivated by this evidence, this paper integrates an analysis of disclosures within an asset pricing model to arrive at a framework in which disclosures and asset returns are jointly determined. Disclosures resolve uncertainty, but the increased information ...

This paper introduces an application of financial risk management methods to the deregulated electricity markets. A framework for the Monte Carlo performance simulation of a power portfolio is presented. The optimal portfolio selection problem is addressed and a numerical method is implemented. Numerical results of simulation and optimization are presented in the Nordic electricity market. The ...

Y variability for a given crop differs geographically and depends on soil type and quality, climate, and the use of irrigation. Yield variability is often measured by an indicator known as the “coefficient of variation,” which measures randomness relative to the mean (or average) value in the yield series. Using this measure, variability in corn yields, for example, ranges from about 0.2 to abo...