I show that relative levels of aggregate consumption and personal oil consumption provide anexcellent proxy for oil prices, and that high oil prices predict low future aggregate consumptiongrowth. Motivated by these facts, I add an oil consumption good to the long-run risk model of Bansal and...

Empirically, the conditional volatility of aggregate consumption growth varies over time. While many papers test the consumption CAPM based on realized consumption growth, little is known about how the time-variation of consumption growth volatility affects asset prices. We show that in a model...

Recent developments in intertemporal asset pricing theory focus on two sets of fundamental determinants of asset returns. Models with complete markets emphasize aggregate variables such as per capita consumption. Such models have not performed well empirically. Models with incomplete markets...

Prior research documents that individual stock returns respond to earnings differently under new accounting standards, regulations, or changes in enforcement. This paper examines whether this result extends to the aggregate stock market. We take a macro perspective and study the properties of...

What is the effect of non-tradeable idiosyncratic risk on asset-market risk premiums? Constantinides and Duffie (1996) and Mankiw (1986) have shown that risk premiums will increase if the idiosyncratic shocks become more volatile during economic contractions. We add two important ingredients to...

In this dissertation, I study the performance of asset-pricing models in explaining the cross section of expected stock returns. The finance literature has uncovered several potential failings of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). I investigate the ability of additional risk factors, which...

Duration is an important and well-established risk characteristic for fixed income securities. We use recent developments in financial statement analysis research to construct a measure of duration for equity securities. We find that the standard empirical predictions and results for fixed...

Farmland and capital are an important and rapidly expanding component of the agriculturaleconomy, and empirical evidence suggests that these assets are quasi-fixed in that adjustment costs are incurred when holdings are altered. Increased interest in the rate of return for investing in farmland...

This dissertation consists of two essays on predictability of asset prices. "Benchmarking problems and long horizon abnormal returns" and, "Low R-square in the cross section of expected returns". Long run abnormal returns following Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), Seasoned Equity Offers (SEO)...

In this paper we employ a GMM-based approach to test the restrictions imposed by a two-factor 'market and oil' pricing model when a risk-free asset is assumed to exist. We examine the Australian market which has several interesting features including self-sufficiency in relation to oil, a large...