Author : Karen K. Lewis
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 60 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (318 download)
Book Synopsis Consumption, Stock Returns, and the Gains from International Risk-sharing by : Karen K. Lewis
Download or read book Consumption, Stock Returns, and the Gains from International Risk-sharing written by Karen K. Lewis and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Standard theoretical models predict that domestic residents should diversify their portfolios into foreign assets much more than observed in practice. Whether this lack of diversification is important depends upon the potential gains from risk-sharing. General equilibrium models and consumption data tend to find that the costs are small, typically less than «% of permanent consumption. On the other hand, stock returns imply gains that are several hundred times larger. In this paper, I examine the reasons for these differences. I find that the primary differences are due to either: (a) the much higher variability of stocks, and/or (b) the higher degree of risk aversion required to reconcile an international equity premium. On the other hand, the significant differences do not arise treating stock returns as exogenous.