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Business-cycle variation in macroeconomic uncertainty and the cross-section of expected returns: Evidence for scale-dependent risks

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  • Xyngis, Georgios

Abstract

A single factor that captures assets’ exposure to business-cycle variation in macroeconomic uncertainty can explain the level and cross-sectional differences of asset returns. Specifically, based on portfolio-level tests I demonstrate that fluctuations in uncertainty with persistence ranging from 32 to 128 months carry a negative price of risk of about −2% annually. The price of risk for fluctuations with persistence outside of this range and for the raw series of aggregate uncertainty is insignificant. Also, equity exposures are negative and hence the corresponding risk premia are positive. I quantify macroeconomic uncertainty using the model-free index of Jurado et al. (2015) derived from monthly, quarterly and annual forecasts.

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  • Xyngis, Georgios, 2017. "Business-cycle variation in macroeconomic uncertainty and the cross-section of expected returns: Evidence for scale-dependent risks," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 43-65.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:empfin:v:44:y:2017:i:c:p:43-65
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jempfin.2017.06.001
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Macroeconomic uncertainty; Scale-dependent risks; Scale-specific predictability; Monotonicity of factor loadings;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes

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