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Discussion Paper
Which Days Matter for Global Equity Markets? Using Options to Price Events in the Global Calendar
Economic developments matter for equity markets, as these developments contain information about both future cash flows and discount rates, the two fundamental drivers of equity prices. Due to the interconnected nature of global equity markets, foreign economic developments could also matter for investors in domestic equity markets.
Discussion Paper
Monetary Policy Tightening and Debt Servicing Costs of Nonfinancial Companies
Rapid monetary policy tightening in most advanced economies in 2022 and 2023 was accompanied by substantial increases in prevailing interest rates for new credit to businesses and households. In addition to increasing the cost of new borrowing, monetary policy tightening may also be associated with increases in costs of servicing existing debt, potentially leading to the tightening of firms' and households' financial constraints, leaving them with less cash for investment and consumption.
Working Paper
Reusing Natural Experiments
After a natural experiment is first used, other researchers often reuse the setting, examining different outcome variables. We use simulations based on real data to illustrate the multiple hypothesis testing problem that arises when researchers reuse natural experiments. We then provide guidance for future inference based on popular empirical settings including difference-in-differences regressions, instrumental variables regressions, and regression discontinuity designs. When we apply our guidance to two extensively studied natural experiments, business combination laws and the Regulation ...
Working Paper
The Price of Macroeconomic Uncertainty: Evidence from Daily Options
Using recently available daily S&P 500 index option expirations, we examine the ex ante pricing of uncertainty surrounding key economic releases and the determinants of risk premia associated with these releases. The cost of insurance against price, variance, and downside risk is higher for options that span U.S. CPI, FOMC, Nonfarm Payroll, and GDP releases compared to neighboring expirations. We calculate release-driven forward equity and variance risk premia and find that premia vary considerably across economic releases and increase with risk aversion as well as with monetary policy and ...