What drives tail risk in aggregate European equity markets?

Purpose - – The paper aims to analyse the drivers of changes in European equity tail risk. Design/methodology/approach - – For this purpose, the paper uses a panel data model with fixed effects based on five explanatory variables including the VIX, the variance risk premium (VRP), the one-year lagged slope of the riskless term-structure, the default spread and market-specific illiquidity via the measure of Baoet al.(2011). The study analyses a comprehensive database of representative European equity indices from February 2003 to December 2013. The database just contains markets of euro member states to avoid biases due to different currencies. To measure equity tail risk, theex postrealized value-at-risk was used. Findings - – There is empirical evidence that the VIX, the VRP and the default spread are key determinants of equity tail risk changes across all markets. Moreover, the results reveal that market-specific illiquidity is an important determinant in PIIGS markets and the one-year lagged term-structure slope in core markets. The analysis also documents that market-specific risk premia are a relevant determinant of equity tail risk changes. Another finding is that risk premia in PIIGS markets are basically higher as in core markets, which reflect the higher risk involved in investing in PIIGS markets. Originality/value - – The paper offers a unique perspective on equity tail risk in aggregate equity markets and helps both investors and risk managers to get a comprehensive understanding of relevant drivers.