This paper analyzes how combining firms into either groups or conglomerates affects their credit standing, as measured by their de- fault probabilities, recovery rates and credit spreads. Each combina- tion offers protection against default to its affiliates, and issues debt to optimize the...

This paper provides the static, swap-based hedge for an annuity, and compares it with the dynamic, delta-based hedge, achieved using longevity bonds. We assume that the longevity intensity is distributed according to a CIR-type process and provide closed-form derivatives prices and hedges, also...

This paper provides a closed-form Value-at-Risk (VaR) for the net exposure of an annuity provider, taking into account both mortality and interest-rate risk, on both assets and liabilities. It builds a classical risk- return frontier and shows that hedging strategies - such as the transfer of...

The paper studies the equilibrium value of bid-ask spreads and time- to-trade in a continuous-time, intermediated fi?nancial market. The en- dogenous spreads are the price at which brokers are willing to offer imme- diacy. They include physical trading costs. Traders intervene optimally, when...

The paper explores the fit properties of a class of multivariate Lévy processes, which are characterized as time-changed correlated Brownian motions. The time-change has a common and an idiosyncratic component, to re ect the properties of trade, which it represents. The resulting process may...

We analyze theoretically banks’ choice of organizational structures in branches or subsidiaries in the presence of government bailouts, default costs and - possibly - economies of scale as sources of financial synergies. We compare with stand-alone banks. Subsidiary and branch structures...

Tournaments are designed to enhance participants’ effort and productivity. However, ranking near the top may increase psychological pressure and reduce performance. We empirically study the impact of interim rank on performance using data from international diving tournaments. We find...

There is little evidence on the joint evolution of gender differences in wages and other job amenities. We analyze gender differences in wages and workplace safety using 9 years of Italian administrative micro-level data. We document that a decline in the gender wage gap was accompanied by a...

The paper provides natural hedging strategies among death benefits and annuities written on a single and on different generations. It obtains closed-form Delta and Gamma hedges, in the presence of both longevity and interest rate risk. We present an application to UK data on survivorship and...

This paper studies the dependence between coupled lives - both within and across generations - and its effects on prices of reversionary annuities in the presence of longevity risk. Longevity risk is represented via a stochastic mortality intensity. Dependence is modelled through copula...