IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jjrfmx/v12y2019i1p5-d194836.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role of Economic Uncertainty in UK Stock Returns

Author

Listed:
  • Jun Gao

    (Cork University Business School and Centre for Investment Research, University College Cork, Cork T12YN60, Ireland)

  • Sheng Zhu

    (Cork University Business School and Centre for Investment Research, University College Cork, Cork T12YN60, Ireland)

  • Niall O’Sullivan

    (Cork University Business School and Centre for Investment Research, University College Cork, Cork T12YN60, Ireland)

  • Meadhbh Sherman

    (Cork University Business School and Centre for Investment Research, University College Cork, Cork T12YN60, Ireland)

Abstract

We investigated the role of domestic and international economic uncertainty in the cross-sectional pricing of UK stocks. We considered a broad range of financial market variables in measuring financial conditions to obtain a better estimate of macroeconomic uncertainty compared to previous literature. In contrast to many earlier studies using conventional principal component analysis to estimate economic uncertainty, we constructed new economic activity and inflation uncertainty indices for the UK using a time-varying parameter factor-augmented vector autoregressive (TVP-FAVAR) model. We then estimated stock sensitivity to a range of macroeconomic uncertainty indices and economic policy uncertainty indices. The evidence suggests that economic activity uncertainty and UK economic policy uncertainty have power in explaining the cross-section of UK stock returns, while UK inflation, EU economic policy and US economic policy uncertainty factors are not priced in stock returns for the UK.

Suggested Citation

  • Jun Gao & Sheng Zhu & Niall O’Sullivan & Meadhbh Sherman, 2019. "The Role of Economic Uncertainty in UK Stock Returns," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:12:y:2019:i:1:p:5-:d:194836
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/12/1/5/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/12/1/5/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael C. Jensen, 1968. "The Performance Of Mutual Funds In The Period 1945–1964," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 23(2), pages 389-416, May.
    2. Pastor, Lubos & Stambaugh, Robert F., 2003. "Liquidity Risk and Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(3), pages 642-685, June.
    3. Francesco Bianchi & Cosmin L. Ilut & Martin Schneider, 2018. "Uncertainty Shocks, Asset Supply and Pricing over the Business Cycle," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 85(2), pages 810-854.
    4. Scott R. Baker & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis, 2016. "Measuring Economic Policy Uncertainty," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(4), pages 1593-1636.
    5. Larry G. Epstein & Martin Schneider, 2010. "Ambiguity and Asset Markets," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 2(1), pages 315-346, December.
    6. Joao Gomes & Leonid Kogan & Lu Zhang, 2003. "Equilibrium Cross Section of Returns," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(4), pages 693-732, August.
    7. Alan Gregory & Rajesh Tharyan & Angela Christidis, 2013. "Constructing and Testing Alternative Versions of the Fama–French and Carhart Models in the UK," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1-2), pages 172-214, January.
    8. Koop, Gary & Korobilis, Dimitris, 2014. "A new index of financial conditions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 101-116.
    9. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 2015. "A five-factor asset pricing model," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(1), pages 1-22.
    10. Kyle Jurado & Sydney C. Ludvigson & Serena Ng, 2015. "Measuring Uncertainty," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(3), pages 1177-1216, March.
    11. Jason Foran & Niall O'Sullivan, 2017. "Mutual fund skill in timing market volatility and liquidity," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(4), pages 257-273, October.
    12. Giorgio E. Primiceri, 2005. "Time Varying Structural Vector Autoregressions and Monetary Policy," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 72(3), pages 821-852.
    13. Jan Hatzius & Peter Hooper & Frederic S. Mishkin & Kermit L. Schoenholtz & Mark W. Watson, 2010. "Financial Conditions Indexes: A Fresh Look after the Financial Crisis," NBER Working Papers 16150, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Zengjing Chen & Larry Epstein, 2002. "Ambiguity, Risk, and Asset Returns in Continuous Time," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 70(4), pages 1403-1443, July.
    15. Nicholas Bloom, 2009. "The Impact of Uncertainty Shocks," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 77(3), pages 623-685, May.
    16. Boivin, Jean & Ng, Serena, 2006. "Are more data always better for factor analysis?," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 132(1), pages 169-194, May.
    17. Jouchi Nakajima, 2011. "Time-Varying Parameter VAR Model with Stochastic Volatility: An Overview of Methodology and Empirical Applications," Monetary and Economic Studies, Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, Bank of Japan, vol. 29, pages 107-142, November.
    18. Campbell, John Y, 1996. "Understanding Risk and Return," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(2), pages 298-345, April.
    19. Carhart, Mark M, 1997. "On Persistence in Mutual Fund Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 57-82, March.
    20. Joyce, Michael & Tong, Matthew & Woods, Robert, 2011. "The United Kingdom’s quantitative easing policy: design, operation and impact," Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, Bank of England, vol. 51(3), pages 200-212.
    21. Campbell, John Y, 1993. "Intertemporal Asset Pricing without Consumption Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(3), pages 487-512, June.
    22. Daniel Ellsberg, 1961. "Risk, Ambiguity, and the Savage Axioms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 75(4), pages 643-669.
    23. Merton, Robert C, 1973. "An Intertemporal Capital Asset Pricing Model," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 41(5), pages 867-887, September.
    24. Epstein, Larry G & Wang, Tan, 1994. "Intertemporal Asset Pricing Under Knightian Uncertainty," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 62(2), pages 283-322, March.
    25. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1993. "Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 3-56, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Oluwatomisin J. Oyewole & Idowu A. Adubiagbe & Oluwasegun B. Adekoya, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and stock returns among OPEC members: evidence from feasible quasi-generalized least squares," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Helseth, Marius Aleksander Emblem & Krakstad, Svein Olav & Molnár, Peter & Norlin, Karl-Martin, 2020. "Can policy and financial risk predict stock markets?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 701-719.
    3. Zhu, Sheng & Gao, Jun & Sherman, Meadhbh, 2020. "The role of future economic conditions in the cross-section of stock returns: Evidence from the US and UK," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    4. Tihana Škrinjarić & Zrinka Orlović, 2020. "Economic Policy Uncertainty and Stock Market Spillovers: Case of Selected CEE Markets," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-33, July.
    5. Aviral Kumar Tiwari & Micheal Kofi Boachie & Rangan Gupta, 2021. "Network Analysis of Economic and Financial Uncertainties in Advanced Economies: Evidence from Graph-Theory," Advances in Decision Sciences, Asia University, Taiwan, vol. 25(1), pages 188-215, March.
    6. Cristiane Gea & Marcelo Cabus Klotzle & Luciano Vereda & Antonio Carlos Figueiredo Pinto, 2023. "Pricing uncertainty in the Brazilian stock market: do size and sustainability matter?," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 1-37, January.
    7. Chen, Weihua & Mamon, Rogemar & Xiong, Heng & Zeng, Pingping, 2024. "Does uncertainty affect the limits of arbitrage? Evidence from the U.S. stock markets," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    8. Aviral Kumar Tiwari & Micheal Kofi Boachie & Rangan Gupta, 2021. "Network Analysis of Economic and Financial Uncertainties in Advanced Economies: Evidence from Graph-Theory," Advances in Decision Sciences, Asia University, Taiwan, vol. 25(1), pages 188-215, March.
    9. Lee, Kiryoung, 2022. "Which uncertainty measures matter for the cross-section of corporate bond returns? Evidence from the U.S. during 1973–2020," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    10. Ólan Henry & Semih Kerestecioglu & Sam Pybis, 2024. "Can financial uncertainty forecast aggregate stock market returns?," Financial Markets, Institutions & Instruments, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(2), pages 91-111, May.
    11. Chen, Wen-Yi & Chen, Mei-Ping, 2022. "Twitter’s daily happiness sentiment, economic policy uncertainty, and stock index fluctuations," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bali, Turan G. & Brown, Stephen J. & Tang, Yi, 2017. "Is economic uncertainty priced in the cross-section of stock returns?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(3), pages 471-489.
    2. Dunbar, Kwamie, 2021. "Pricing the hedging factor in the cross-section of stock returns," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    3. Ali, Sara & Badshah, Ihsan & Demirer, Riza & Hegde, Prasad, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and institutional investment returns: The case of New Zealand," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    4. Nartea, Gilbert V. & Bai, Hengyu & Wu, Ji, 2020. "Investor sentiment and the economic policy uncertainty premium," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    5. Şahin, Baki Cem & Danışoğlu, Seza, 2022. "Ambiguity and asset pricing: An empirical investigation for an emerging market," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    6. Hitz, Lukas & Mustafi, Ismail H. & Zimmermann, Heinz, 2022. "The pricing of volatility risk in the US equity market," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    7. Maio, Paulo & Philip, Dennis, 2018. "Economic activity and momentum profits: Further evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 466-482.
    8. Marton Lotz & Daniel Ruf & Johannes Strobel, 2023. "Uncertainty premia in REIT returns," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 51(2), pages 372-407, March.
    9. Fulkerson, Jon A. & Riley, Timothy B., 2019. "Portfolio concentration and mutual fund performance," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1-16.
    10. Amit Goyal, 2012. "Empirical cross-sectional asset pricing: a survey," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 26(1), pages 3-38, March.
    11. Barroso, Pedro & Boons, Martijn & Karehnke, Paul, 2021. "Time-varying state variable risk premia in the ICAPM," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(2), pages 428-451.
    12. González-Sánchez, Mariano & Nave, Juan & Rubio, Gonzalo, 2020. "Effects of uncertainty and risk aversion on the exposure of investment-style factor returns to real activity," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    13. Sakemoto, Ryuta, 2023. "The long-run risk premium in the intertemporal CAPM: International evidence," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    14. Zhang, Teng & Xu, Zhiwei & Li, Jiaqi, 2023. "The asset pricing implications of global oil price uncertainty: Evidence from the cross-section of Chinese stock returns," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    15. Tengfei Zhang, 2020. "Manager Uncertainty and Cross-Sectional Stock Returns," 2020 Papers pzh934, Job Market Papers.
    16. Turan G. Bali & Hao Zhou, 2011. "Risk, uncertainty, and expected returns," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2011-45, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    17. Magnus Reif, 2020. "Macroeconomics, Nonlinearities, and the Business Cycle," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 87.
    18. Stefan Nagel, 2013. "Empirical Cross-Sectional Asset Pricing," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 5(1), pages 167-199, November.
    19. Takao Asano & Xiaojing Cai & Ryuta Sakemoto, 2023. "Time-varying ambiguity shocks and business cycles," KIER Working Papers 1094, Kyoto University, Institute of Economic Research.
    20. Clarke, Charles, 2022. "The level, slope, and curve factor model for stocks," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(1), pages 159-187.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:12:y:2019:i:1:p:5-:d:194836. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.