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Preferences, Consumption Smoothing and Risk Premia

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  • Lettau, M.
  • Uhlig, H.F.H.V.S.

    (Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management)

Abstract

Risk premia in the consumption capital asset pricing model depend on preferences and dividends. We develop a decomposition which allows for the separate treatment of both components. We show that preferences alone determine the risk-return trade-off measured by the Sharpe-ratio. In general, the risk-return trade-off implied by preferences depends on the elasticity of a preference-based stochastic discount factor for pricing assets with respect to the consumption innovation. Depending on the particular specification of preferences, the absolute value of this elasticity may coincide with the inverse of the elasticity of intertemporal substitution (e.g. for habit formation preferences) or the coefficient of relative risk-aversion (e.g. for Epstein-Zin preferences). We demonstrate that preferences based on a small elasticity of intertemporal substitution, such as habit formation, produce small risk premia once agents are allowed to save. Departing from the complete markets framework, we show that uninsurable risk can only increase the Sharpe-ratio and risk premia if dividends are correlated with individual consumption.
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  • Lettau, M. & Uhlig, H.F.H.V.S., 1997. "Preferences, Consumption Smoothing and Risk Premia," Other publications TiSEM 129a8e4c-f593-4f03-b35b-2, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    • Handle: RePEc:tiu:tiutis:129a8e4c-f593-4f03-b35b-2846f24d7311
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Chiarella Carl & Semmler Willi & Mittnik Stefan & Zhu Peiyuan, 2002. "Stock Market, Interest Rate and Output: A Model and Estimation for US Time Series Data," Studies in Nonlinear Dynamics & Econometrics, De Gruyter, vol. 6(1), pages 1-39, April.
    2. Lettau, M., 1997. "Comment on "The Spirit of Capitalism and Stock Market Prices" By G.S. Bakshi and Z. Chen (AER, 1996)," Discussion Paper 1997-49, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    3. Willi Semmler, 2011. "Asset Prices, Booms and Recessions," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-642-20680-1, March.
    4. Andreas Hornstein & Harald Uhlig, 2000. "What is the Real Story for Interest Rate Volatility?," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 1(1), pages 43-67, February.
    5. Lawrence J. Christiano & Michele Boldrin & Jonas D. M. Fisher, 2001. "Habit Persistence, Asset Returns, and the Business Cycle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(1), pages 149-166, March.
    6. Cepii & Cepremap, 2001. "MARMOTTE : a Multinational Model," Working Papers 2001-15, CEPII research center.
    7. Josep Pijoan-Mas, 2007. "Pricing Risk in Economies with Heterogeneous Agents and Incomplete Markets," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 5(5), pages 987-1015, September.
    8. Olivier Allais & Loic Cadiou & Stéphane Dees, 2001. "Defining Consumption Behaviour in a Multi-Country Model," Working Papers 2001-02, CEPII research center.
    9. Douch, Mohamed, 2004. "Equity Premiums In a Small Open Economy," MPRA Paper 876, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Martin Lettau, 2000. "Cross-variable restrictions in Euler equations and risk premia," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(2), pages 99-101.
    11. Ms. Aude Pommeret & Ms. Anne Epaulard, 2001. "Agents’ Preferences, the Equity Premium, and the Consumption-Saving Trade-Off: An Application to French Data," IMF Working Papers 2001/117, International Monetary Fund.
    12. Tack Yun & Wooheon Rhee, 2004. "Implications of Quasi-Geometric Discounting on the Observable Sharpe Ratio," Econometric Society 2004 North American Summer Meetings 243, Econometric Society.
    13. Peter Woehrmann, "undated". "A dynamic model of the financial�real interaction as a model selection criterion for nonparametric stock market prediction," IEW - Working Papers 226, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • 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

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