In the standard bond-pricing framework (e.g., Merton [1974]), the return function of holders of risky corporate debt is a concave function of the firm’s stochastic return, implying that a mean-preserving spread is associated with an increase in the bond risk premium. This feature of the standard debt contract has two important implications for the relationship between uncertainty and investment...

Many international and national authorities recommend that cardiovascular risk assessment using multivariate risk scores be used to identify individuals at high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This approach is likely to assure that resources in developing countries are allocated to those who need it most. However, not many developing countries have implemented this approach and different ...

In this paper we show that temperature is an aggregate risk factor that adversely affects economic growth. Our argument is based on evidence from global capital markets which shows that the covariance between country equity returns and temperature (i.e., temperature betas) contains sharp information about the cross-country risk premium; countries closer to the Equator carry a positive temperatu...

This paper investigates the significance of volatility, skewness, kurtosis, and downside risk in predicting the cross-sectional variation in future returns on corporate bonds. The results indicate a significantly positive (negative) link between volatility (skewness) and expected returns, whereas kurtosis does not have a robust incremental contribution to the predictability of bond returns. Bon...

This paper studies asset pricing in a setting where idiosyncratic risks in labor productivities are uninsurable due to limited commitment. Firms provide insurance to workers using long-term contracts but neither side can commit to these relationships. Under the optimal contract, sufficiently adverse shocks to worker productivity are uninsured. In general equilibrium, exposure to down-side tail ...

BACKGROUND The global burden of anemia is large especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV is common and lifestyles are changing rapidly with urbanization. The effects of these changes are unknown. Studies of anemia usually focus on pregnant women or children, among whom the burden is greatest. We describe prevalence and risk factors for anemia among rural and urban men and women of all ages i...

To explain the variation in US asset returns in the 20th century, we solve an equilibrium model in which households face housing collateral constraints. An increase in the ratio of housing to human wealth loosens these constraints. It allows for more risk sharing and decreases the rate of return that households require for holding equity. This collateral mechanism can explain the time-variation...

This paper documents a new and important cross-sectional determinant of hedge fund returns, their exposures to sentiment risk, measured as beta of fund returns to fluctuations in sentiment proxies. For a large sample of equity-oriented hedge funds, those whose sentiment beta ranks in the top decile subsequently outperform the bottom decile by 0.67% per month, after controlling for fund’s exposu...

This study examines the timeliness of write-downs taken by U.S. financial institutions during the financial crisis of 2007-2008. The timeliness of write-downs is measured by benchmarking the quarterly accounting write-down schedule with the devaluation schedule implied by credit indices such as the ABX. The results show that accounting write-downs are less timely than the devaluations implied b...

In this paper we report on results from a cross-sectional survey with manufacturers in four typical Chinese industries, i.e., power generating, chemical/petroleum, electrical/electronic and automobile, to evaluate their perceived green supply chain management (GSCM) practices and relate them to closing the supply chain loop. Our findings provide insights into the capabilities of Chinese organiz...