DOCSLIB.ORG

Sergio Sebastian Turner

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Sergio Sebastian Turner Sergio Sebastian Turner (617) 775-8285 31 Bay State Rd. # 3 sergio.turner[at)tufts.edu Boston, MA 02215 www.sergioturner.com USA, Brazil (citizen) CURRENT POSITION Lecturer of Economics, Tufts University, 9/’13 – PREVIOUS POSITIONS Architecture, AdWords & search engine optimizer for small business, 8/’08 – 1/’14 Assistant Professor of Economics, Brown University, 7/‘04 – 7/‘08 EDUCATION Ph.D. in Economics, Yale University, 12/‘04 Dissertation: Welfare Impact of Policy in Incomplete Markets: Theory and Computation Advisors: Prof. John Geanakoplos, Prof. Donald Brown, Prof. Stephen Morris B.S. in Applied Mathematics, magna cum laude, UC-Berkeley, 12/‘97 TEACHING (Undergraduate & PhD courses) Principles of Economics Su15 U General Equilibrium Theory, S07, S08 U Introduction to Econometrics, F13 U Introduction to Game Theory, F13, S14, F14, S15, F15 U Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory, Su14 U Intermediate Microeconomics (Honors), F04, F05 U Intermediate Microeconomics, S07, S08 U Introduction to Finance, Su03, Su14 U Quantitative Financial Economics F14, F15 U Quantitative International Finance F14, F15 U Quantitative Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory F14, F15 U Microeconomic Theory II, S14 Master Finance & Mechanism Design in Continuous Time S07, S08 PhD Theory of Incomplete Asset Markets, S06 PhD Mathematics for Economists, S05, S06; F06, F07, F08 PhD PUBLICATIONS Tirelli, Mario and Sergio Turner, “Quantifying the cost of risk in consumption,” The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, 10(1) (2010) article 31. Tirelli, Mario and Sergio Turner, “A social welfare function characterizing competitive equilibria of incomplete financial markets,” Research in Economics, 64 (2010) 58-65. WORKING PAPERS How Much Trade Does the Transfer Paradox Require? The Threshold Computed, revise and resubmit to Journal of Economic Theory Pareto Improving Taxation in Incomplete Markets Demand Theory in Incomplete Markets FELLOWSHIPS, HONORS AND AWARDS Yale University Carl Arvid Anderson Fellowship, ‘02-‘03 Yale Dissertation Fellowship, Spring ‘02 Cowles Foundation Prize, Summers ‘99, ‘00, ‘01 Yale University Fellowship, ‘98-‘02 University of California-Berkeley Phi Beta Kappa, ‘97 Student Research Opportunities Program, summer ‘97 Carnegie-Mellon University Research Experience for Undergraduates – NSF, summer ‘96 Stanford University AEA Summer Program, summer ‘95 SERVICE TO PROFESSION Refereeing Econometrica, Journal of Economic Theory, Journal of Mathematical Economics, Berkeley Electronic Press, International Economic Review PhD advising Norovsambuu Tumennasan, ‘05-‘09 (now at Aarhus University) Matthias Cinyabuguma, ‘04-‘05 (now at U. of Maryland-Baltimore County) Luciana Fiorini, ‘04-‘05 (now at The University of Western Australia) Undergraduate Advising Applied Math-Econ, Math-Econ, Engr-Econ, Comp Sci-Econ Advisor, ‘05-‘09 Emily Roessel, senior thesis, ‘05-‘06 Sebastian Benthall, Spring ‘05, Summer ‘05 Organizing Co-organizer, ‘08 NSF/NBER/CEME Conference in General Equilibrium-Mathematical Economics Co-organizer, creation of Finance track in Applied Math-Economics concentration, Spring ‘07 Organizer, theory workshop, Fall ‘06 Co-organizer, theory workshop, Fall ‘04, Fall ‘05 Search and Hiring Assistant Professor in micro theory, 12/‘06 Post-doc in micro theory, ‘06, ‘07 PhD admissions committee, ‘04 PRESENTATIONS September ‘07- 17th European Workshop on General Equilibrium Theory, Paestum, 6-15 September ‘06- Economic Theory Workshop, U Penn, 3-16 Workshop on Mathematical Economics at IMPA, Rio, 12-14 Midwest Economic Theory at Purdue, West Lafayette, 10-13 Rice University Microeconomic Theory Workshop, 9-14 September ‘05- North American Meeting of the Econometric Society, Minneapolis, 6-24 Colloquia on Mathematical Economics, University of Rome III, 6-7 2nd CARESS-Cowles Conference on General Equilibrium and its Applications, 4-28 Brown Theory Workshop/Lunch, 9-19/21 REFERENCES Professor John Geanakoplos Director Stephen Zarlenga Professor Andrew Foster Yale University American Monetary Institute Brown University Department of Economics www.monetary.org Department of Economics Box 208281 PO Box 601 64 Waterman St. New Haven, CT 06520-8281 Valatie, NY 12184 Providence, RI 02912 (203) 432-3397 (518) 392-5387 (401) 863-2537 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • IO Reading List
    Economics 257 – MGTECON 630 Fall 2020 Professor José Ignacio Cuesta [email protected] Professor Liran Einav [email protected] Professor Paulo Somaini [email protected] Industrial Organization I: Reading List I. Imperfect Competition: Background Bresnahan, Tim “Empirical Studies with Market Power,” Handbook of Industrial Organization, vol. II, chap. 17. Einav, Liran and Jonathan Levin. “Empirical Industrial Organization: A Progress Report,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24(2), 145-162 (2010). Tirole, Jean. The Theory of Industrial Organization, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1988. A. Test of Market Power Ashenfelter, O., and D. Sullivan, “Nonparametric Tests of Market Structure: An Application to the Cigarette Industry,” Journal of Industrial Economics 35, 483-498, (1989). Baker, J., and T. Bresnahan, “Estimating the residual demand curve facing a single firm,” International Journal of Industrial Organization 6(3), 283-300, (1988). Corts, K., “Conduct Parameters and the Measurement of Market Power,” Journal of Econometrics 88, 227-225, (1999). Genesove, D. and W. Mullin, “Testing Static Oligopoly Models: Conduct and Cost in the Sugar Industry, 1890-1914,” Rand Journal of Economics 29(2), 355-377, (1989). Stigler, G. “A Theory of Oligopoly,” The Journal of Political Economy, 72(1), 44-61, (1964) Sumner, D., “Measurement of Monopoly Behavior: An Application to the Cigarette Industry,” Journal of Political Economy 89, 1010-1019, (1981). Wolfram, C., “Measurement of Monopoly Behavior: An Application to the Cigarette Industry,” American Economic Review 89($), 805-826, (1999). B. Differentiated Products Anderson, S. P., A. de Palma, and J. F. Thisse, Discrete Choice Theory of Product Differentiation, Chapters 1-5, Cambridge: MIT Press, (1992). Caplin, A., and B.
    [Show full text]
  • The Virtues and Vices of Equilibrium and the Future of Financial Economics
    The Virtues and Vices of Equilibrium and the Future of Financial Economics The use of equilibrium models in economics springs from the desire for parsimonious models of economic phenomena that take human reasoning into account. This approach has been the cornerstone of modern economic theory.We explain why this is so, extolling the virtues of equilibrium theory; then we present a critique and describe why this approach is inherently limited, and why economics needs to move in new directions if it is to continue to make progress. We stress that this shouldn’t be a question of dogma, and should be resolved empirically. There are situations where equilibrium models provide useful predictions and there are situations where they can never provide useful predictions. There are also many situations where the jury is still out,i.e.,where so far they fail to provide a good description of the world,but where proper extensions might change this. Our goal is to convince the skeptics that equilibrium models can be useful, but also to make traditional economists more aware of the limitations of equilibrium models.We sketch some alternative approaches and discuss why they should play an important role in future research in economics. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 14: 11–38, 2009 J. DOYNE FARMER AND JOHN GEANAKOPLOS Key Words: equilibrium; rational expectations; efficiency; arbitrage; bounded ratio- nality; power laws; disequilibrium; zero intelligence; market ecology; agent-based modeling J. Doyne Farmer is affiliated with Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501 and LUISS Guido Carli, 00198, Roma, Italy 1. INTRODUCTION (e-mail: [email protected]) he concept of equilibrium has dominated economics and finance for at least John Geanakoplos is affiliated with Yale 50 years.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae
    Curriculum Vitae September 2018 Ana Fostel Email: [email protected] Department of Economics Old Web Page: www.anafostel.com Monroe Hall, Suite 222 Citizenship: USA. Uruguay. Italy. Charlottesville, VA 22903 Phone: (434) 924 7654 FIELDS OF CONCENTRATION. Financial Economics. International Finance. Economic Theory. Experimental Finance. CURRENT POSITION University of Virginia, Department of Economics, Professor of Economics. Since June 2017. National Bureau of Economic Research. Research Associate. Since June 2017. PREVIOUS POSITIONS University of Virginia, Department of Economics, Associate Professor (with tenure) of Economics. Since August 2015. George Washington University, Department of Economics, Associate Professor (with tenure) of Economics and International Affairs. 2012-2015. George Washington University, Department of Economics, Assistant Professor of Economics and International Affairs. 2005-2011. EDUCATION Ph.D. (with distinction) Department of Economics, Yale University. December 2005. M.Phil. Department of Economics, Yale University. 2002 M.A. Department of Economics, Yale University. 2001. Ph.D. candidate in Mathematics, IMPA Instituto de Matematica Pura e Aplicada. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 1999. M.A. Mathematics and Economics, IMPA. Instituto de Matematica Pura e Aplicada. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 1998. B.A. Economics, Universidad de la Republica. Montevideo, Uruguay. 1996 RESEARCH Publications Collateral Constraints and the Law of One Price: An Experiment Joint with Marco Cipriani and Daniel Houser. Forthcoming at Journal of Finance. Fiscal Discoveries and Yield Decouplings. Joint with Luis Catão and Romain Ranciere. IMF Review. 2017. Volume 65, Issue 4, pp 704–744. Financial Innovation, Collateral and Investment. Joint with John Geanakoplos. AEJ: Macroeconomics. 2016. Vol. 8(1): 242-284. Leverage and Default in Binomial Economies: AComplete Characterization.
    [Show full text]
  • Trade with Heterogeneous Prior Beliefs and Asymmetric Information Author(S): Stephen Morris Source: Econometrica, Vol. 62, No. 6 (Nov., 1994), Pp
    Trade with Heterogeneous Prior Beliefs and Asymmetric Information Author(s): Stephen Morris Source: Econometrica, Vol. 62, No. 6 (Nov., 1994), pp. 1327-1347 Published by: The Econometric Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2951751 Accessed: 29-05-2015 02:11 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/ info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The Econometric Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Econometrica. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 128.112.66.66 on Fri, 29 May 2015 02:11:33 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Econometrica, Vol. 62, No. 6 (November, 1994), 1327-1347 TRADE WITHHETEROGENEOUS PRIOR BELIEFS AND ASYMMETRICINFORMATION BY STEPHEN MORRIS1 "No trade" theorems have shown that new information will not lead to trade when agents share the same prior beliefs. This paper explores the structure of no trade theorems with heterogeneous prior beliefs. It is shown how different notions of efficiency under asymmetric information-ex ante, interim, ex post-are related to agents' prior beliefs, as well as incentive compatible and public versions of those efficiency concepts. These efficiency results are used to characterize necessary and sufficient conditions on agents' beliefs for no trade theorems in different trading environments.
    [Show full text]
  • Department of Economics Newsletter
    DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS NEWSLETTER Department of Economics Newsletter May 2015 GENERAL DEPARTMENT NEWS The Economics Department at Johns 2016. Professor Quah is an economic Poster for the Richard Ely Distinguished Hopkins has had another busy year with theorist with many major works to his credit Lecture Series 2014-2015: multiple events and many developmentsMay 20and15 is an outstanding addition to the among the faculty and graduate students. Department. This Newsletter will cover many of them but feel free to keep track of all developments as The Department was well represented at the they happen on the department website, AEA Meetings in January, 2015 in Boston. http://www.econ.jhu.edu/. Among the faculty, Chris Carroll, Olivier Jeanne, Ali Khan, Anton Korinek, Robert We welcomed Assistant Professor Ying Chen Moffitt, Nick Papageorge, and Yuya Sasaki to the Department in September. Ying were on the program. The traditional cocktail specializes in Economic Theory and comes party and reception also drew a number of from Southampton and Arizona State and current and former graduate students and received her Ph.D. from Yale. Ying is faculty. We will be having another in January, teaching graduate and undergraduate 2016 in San Francisco. Mark it on your courses in micro theory. calendars. We look forward to the Spring 2016 Ely We are also happy to report that Dr. Robert Our annual Richard T. Ely Lecture this year Lectures as well, which will be given by Barbera, a graduate alumnus from our was given by John Geanakoplos (photo Professor Robert Porter of Northwestern Department, has continued his stepped up below) from Yale University, who gave four University.
    [Show full text]
  • REVIEWING the LEVERAGE CYCLE by Ana Fostel and John Geanakoplos September 2013 COWLES FOUNDATION DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 1918 COWLE
    REVIEWING THE LEVERAGE CYCLE By Ana Fostel and John Geanakoplos September 2013 COWLES FOUNDATION DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 1918 COWLES FOUNDATION FOR RESEARCH IN ECONOMICS YALE UNIVERSITY Box 208281 New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8281 http://cowles.econ.yale.edu/ Reviewing the Leverage Cycle∗ Ana Fostel † John Geanakoplos ‡ September, 2013 Abstract We review the theory of leverage developed in collateral equilibrium models with incomplete markets. We explain how leverage tends to boost asset prices, and create bubbles. We show how leverage can be endogenously determined in equilibrium, and how it depends on volatility. We describe the dynamic feedback properties of leverage, volatility, and asset prices, in what we call the Leverage Cycle. We also describe some cross-sectional implications of multiple leverage cycles, including contagion, flight to collateral, and swings in the issuance volume of the highest quality debt. We explain the differences between the leverage cycle and the credit cycle literature. Finally, we describe an agent based model of the leverage cycle in which asset prices display clustered volatility and fat tails even though all the shocks are essentially Gaussian. Keywords: Leverage, Leverage Cycle, Volatility, Collateral Equilibrium, Collateral Value, Liquidity Wedge, Flight to Collateral, Contagion, Adverse selection, Agent Based Models. 1 Introduction Before the great financial crisis of 2007-09, mainstream macroeconomics regarded interest rates and technology shocks as the most important drivers of economic ac- tivity and asset prices. The Federal Reserve, charged with maintaining stable prices ∗Paper is submitted to the Annual Review of Economics. DOI for the paper is 10.1146/annurev- economics-080213-041426. †George Washington University, Washington, DC ‡Yale University, New Haven, CT, Santa Fe Institute, Ellington Capital Management.
    [Show full text]
  • Greek Debt and American Debt: Graduation Speech at the University of Athens Economics and Business School
    GREEK DEBT AND AMERICAN DEBT: GRADUATION SPEECH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS SCHOOL By John Geanakoplos November 2011 COWLES FOUNDATION DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 1837 COWLES FOUNDATION FOR RESEARCH IN ECONOMICS YALE UNIVERSITY Box 208281 New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8281 http://cowles.econ.yale.edu/ Greek Debt and American Debt Graduation Speech at the University of Athens Economics and Business School June 2011 John Geanakoplos Abstract: This is the graduation speech I gave on receiving an honorary doctorate at the University of Athens Economics and Business School. I talk about my Greek family, about how I got interested in economics, and then how in the 1990s I came to think about default, collateral, and leverage as the central features of the financial/macro economy, despite their complete absence (even now) from any textbooks. Finally I suggest that the Greek debt problem, and on a bigger scale, the American debt problem, can only be cured when lenders are prodded to forgive. That would be better for the borrowers but also for the lenders. Key Words: Greek, parents, mathematical economics, Yale, mortgage, collateral, securitization, leverage, foreclosure, forgive, principal. JEL: D52, D53, E444, G01, G10, G12 1 Greek Debt and American Debt Graduation Speech at the University of Athens Economics and Business School June 2011 I am very honored to receive this honorary PHD here in Greece. Were they still alive, my parents would have been very proud, just like your parents are today. Though my parents were born in the United States, they both grew up speaking Greek before they spoke English.
    [Show full text]
  • Προσφώνηση Στον Καθηγητή John Geanakoplos (Yale University) Κατά Τη Διάρκεια Τελετής Αναγόρευσης Του Σε Επίτιμο Διδάκτορα Του Οικονομικού Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών
    Προσφώνηση στον Καθηγητή John Geanakoplos (Yale University) κατά τη διάρκεια τελετής αναγόρευσης του σε επίτιμο διδάκτορα του Οικονομικού Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών. Νίκος Βέττας, Πρόεδρος του Τμήματος Οικονομικής Επιστήμης 1.6.2011 Κυρίες και κύριοι Είναι πραγματικά μια εξαιρετική ημέρα για το Τμήμα μας και το Πανεπιστήμιο σήμερα. Από τη μία έχουμε την τελετή αποφοίτησης προπτυχιακών φοιτητών και φοιτητριών μας, μια ιδιαίτερα σημαντική στιγμή για τον καθένα από αυτούς και άρα για το Τμήμα. Από την άλλη έχουμε την ιδιαίτερη χαρά να έχουμε μαζί μας έναν από τους κορυφαίους και περισσότερο γνωστούς οικονομολόγους στον κόσμο, τον John Geanakoplos. Η ανακήρυξή του σε επίτιμο διδάκτορα είναι η ύψιστη τιμή από το Πανεπιστήμιο, όμως στην πραγματικότητα είναι ο κος Geanakoplos που μας τιμά σήμερα με την παρουσία του. Είναι συνηθισμένο στα καλύτερα πανεπιστήμια του κόσμου να παραβρίσκονται σε τελετές αποφοίτησης κορυφαίες προσωπικότητες, αλλά σπάνιο στη χώρα μας. Είμαστε λοιπόν ιδιαίτερα χαρούμενοι σήμερα. Μέρος της προσφώνησης και η αντιφώνηση του κου Geanakoplos θα είναι στα αγγλικά, για αυτό το λόγο η διάρκειά τους θα είναι σύντομη. Ζητώ την κατανόηση όσων από τους επισκέπτες μας δεν θα μπορούν να παρακολουθήσουν. Η συνέχεια της τελετής θα είναι στα ελληνικά. Πολλές φορές, οι επίσημες τελετές μπορεί να μην έχουν ουσία, όμως νομίζω ότι η σημερινή έχει έναν πολύ έντονο και σημαντικό συμβολισμό, ιδιαίτερα σε μια δύσκολη εποχή για την κοινωνία μας. Το Πανεπιστήμιο και όλοι μας τιμά ένα άνθρωπο με ελληνικές ρίζες που βρίσκεται εδώ και καιρό στην ακαδημαϊκή κορυφή, διαμορφώνει την οικονομική σκέψη σε παγκόσμιο επίπεδο, προσφέρει με κάθε τρόπο στους φοιτητές και συναδέλφους του αλλά και νοιάζεται βαθιά για τον τόπο από τον οποίο κατάγεται.
    [Show full text]
  • Kenneth Arrow's Contributions to General
    Kenneth Arrow’s Contributions to General Equilibrium John Geanakoplos It is not easy to separate the significance and influence of the Arrow-Debreu model of general equilibrium from that of mathematical economics itself. In an extraordinary series of papers and books (1951, 1954, 1959, 1971), Ken Arrow and Gerard Debreu settled two of the oldest and most important questions of economics through arguments at least as elegant as any that have ever been given in all of economics, using the techniques of convexity and fixed point theory that are still, after sixty-five years, the most important mathematical devices in mathematical economics. More than any other, their model crystallized the mathematical-axiomatic approach that transformed economics from a field not much more mathematical than its sister social sciences like sociology and psychology into a discipline with the same mathematical rigor as physics and the other hard sciences.1 The Arrow Debreu model was simple enough to be understood immediately by mathematicians with no training in economics, yet general enough, given ever subtler interpretations of the notion of commodity, to encompass a large fraction of economics known up until that time, as special cases. Moreover, many subsequent developments in economics could be cast as elementary relaxations of the Arrow-Debreu framework. Today general equilibrium plays an absolutely central role in fields as diverse as international trade, public finance, development, finance, and macroeconomics. When we consider that Arrow not only derived the most fundamental properties of the model (along with Debreu, and McKenzie), but also provided the most significant interpretive extensions, it is no wonder that he remains the youngest Nobel Prize winner in economics.
    [Show full text]
  • THE LEVERAGE CYCLE by John Geanakoplos July 2009 Revised January 2010 COWLES FOUNDATION DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 1715R COWLES FOUNDA
    THE LEVERAGE CYCLE By John Geanakoplos July 2009 Revised January 2010 COWLES FOUNDATION DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 1715R COWLES FOUNDATION FOR RESEARCH IN ECONOMICS YALE UNIVERSITY Box 208281 New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8281 http://cowles.econ.yale.edu/ The Leverage Cycle John Geanakoplos Revised, January 5, 2010 Abstract Equilibrium determines leverage, not just interest rates. Variations in lever- age cause ‡uctuations in asset prices. This leverage cycle can be damaging to the economy, and should be regulated. Key Words: Leverage, Collateral, Cycle, Crisis, Regulation JEL: E3, E32, G01, G12 1 Introduction to the Leverage Cycle At least since the time of Irving Fisher, economists, as well as the general public, have regarded the interest rate as the most important variable in the economy. But in times of crisis, collateral rates (equivalently margins or leverage) are far more important. Despite the cries of newspapers to lower the interest rates, the Fed would sometimes do much better to attend to the economy-wide leverage and leave the interest rate alone. When a homeowner (or hedge fund or a big investment bank) takes out a loan using say a house as collateral, he must negotiate not just the interest rate, but how much he can borrow. If the house costs $100 and he borrows $80 and pays $20 in cash, we say that the margin or haircut is 20%, the loan to value is $80/$100 = 80%, and the collateral rate is $100/$80 = 125%. The leverage is the reciprocal of the margin, namely the ratio of the asset value to the cash needed to purchase it, or $100/$20 = 5.
    [Show full text]
  • 2018 TIAA Paul A. Samuelson Award for Outstanding Scholarly Writing on Lifelong Financial Security About the TIAA Paul A
    2018 TIAA Paul A. Samuelson Award For Outstanding Scholarly Writing on Lifelong Financial Security About the TIAA Paul A. Samuelson Award Named in honor of Nobel Prize winner and former CREF Trustee Paul A. Samuelson, the Samuelson Award is presented annually by the TIAA Institute to recognize an outstanding research publication that can help increase Americans’ lifelong financial well-being. The winner is chosen by an independent panel of judges—consisting of Institute Fellows and previous award winners—and receives a $10,000 cash prize. About the TIAA Institute The TIAA Institute helps advance the ways individuals and institutions plan for financial security and organizational effectiveness. The Institute conducts in-depth research, provides access to a network of thought leaders, and enables those it serves to anticipate trends, plan future strategies and maximize opportunities for success. To learn more about our work and engage with our community of thought leaders, please visit our website at www.tiaainstitute.org and follow us on Twitter at @TIAAInstitute. 2018 Winning Submission “Tax Uncertainty and Retirement Savings Diversification” (Journal of Financial Economics, 2017, Volume 126, Issue 3, 689–712) David C. Brown Scott Cederburg Michael S. O’Doherty University of Arizona University of Arizona University of Missouri Investors are required to make important decisions about their retirement savings within complex economic and regulatory environments. This paper provides a careful analysis of how an investor should optimally allocate savings across traditional and Roth tax-advantaged retirement accounts, using a model featuring a progressive tax schedule and uncertainty over future tax rates. According to John Beshears, one of the Samuelson Award judges, “The authors corroborate some aspects of conventional wisdom, such as the recommendation that individuals with low current income should use Roth accounts.
    [Show full text]
  • Power Laws in Finance and Their Implications for Economic Theory
    Power laws in finance and their implications for economic theory J. Doyne Farmer∗ and John Geanakoplos† April 28, 2004 Abstract The following presents a review of power laws in financial eco- nomics. It is a chapter from a preliminary draft of a very long review article called “Beyond equilibrium and efficiency”. While some of the discussion is specific to economics, most of it applies to power laws in general – the nouns may change, but the underlying questions are sim- ilar in many fields. This draft is still highly preliminary – comments at any level are greatly appreciated. Contents 1Powerlaws 2 1.1Whatisapowerlaw?...................... 3 1.2 Practical importance of power laws in financial economics . 7 1.2.1 Empiricalevidenceforpowerlaws........... 7 1.2.2 Clustered volatility . .............. 9 1.2.3 Optionpricingandriskcontrol............. 10 1.3Theempiricaldebate....................... 12 1.3.1 Testingthepowerlawhypothesis............ 12 1.3.2 Thecriticalview..................... 14 1.4Mechanismsforgeneratingpowerlaws............. 15 1.4.1 Hierarchiesandexponentials.............. 17 1.4.2 Maximizationprinciples................. 18 1.4.3 Multiplicativeprocesses................. 23 1.4.4 Mixturesofdistributions................. 25 ∗McKinsey Professor, Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Rd., Santa Fe NM 87501 †Economics Department, Yale University, New Haven CT 1 1.4.5 Preferentialattachment................. 26 1.4.6 Dimensionalconstraints................. 27 1.4.7 Criticalpointsanddeterministicdynamics....... 31 1.4.8 “Trivial”mechanisms.................. 35 1.5Implicationsforeconomictheory................ 37 2 References 38 1Powerlaws Crudely speaking a power law is a relation of the form f(x) ≈ Kxα,where K and α are constants, and x>0. Although their existence and interpreta- tion is controversial, there is considerable evidence suggesting that many of the statistical properties of financial markets are asympototically described by power laws.
    [Show full text]