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Informational Asymmetry and Market Imperfections: Another Solution to the Equity Premium Puzzle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

Chunsheng Zhou
Chunsheng Zhou
Affiliation:
Anderson Graduate School of Management, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521.
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Abstract

This paper develops an equilibrium asset pricing model to explain the equity premium puzzle and the risk-free rate puzzle by allowing for both market frictions and informational asymmetry. The paper argues that much of the high equity premium in the Mehra and Prescott (1985).sample period can be explained by informational asymmetry among investors and the inability of many investors to diversify their portfolios. With admissible relative risk aversion coefficient γ, the model matches various key statistics quite well. The paper implies that with the development of mutual funds, the equity premium should decline as has been the case since the 1950s.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis , Volume 34 , Issue 4 , December 1999 , pp. 445 - 464
Copyright
Copyright © School of Business Administration, University of Washington 1999

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