The Persistence of Volatility and Stock Market Fluctuations / James M. Poterba, Lawrence H. Summers.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Poterba, James M.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Summers, Lawrence H.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w1462.

NBER working paper series no. w1462

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 1984.

Summary:

This paper examines the potential influence of changing volatility in stock market prices on the level of stock market prices. It demonstrates that volatility is only weakly serially correlated, implying that shocks to volatility do not persist. These shocks can therefore have only a small impact on stockmarket prices, since changes in volatility affect expected required rates of return for relatively short intervals. These findings lead us to be skeptical of recent claims that the stock market's poor performance during the 1970's can be explained by volatility-induced increases in risk premia.

Notes:

Print version record

September 1984.