
Volatility activity: Specification and estimation
The paper examines volatility activity and its asymmetry and undertakes further specification analysis of volatility models based on it. We develop new nonparametric statistics using high-frequency option-based VIX data to test for asymmetry in volatility jumps. We also develop methods for estimating and evaluating, using price data alone, a general encompassing model for volatility dynamics where volatility activity is unrestricted. The nonparametric application to VIX data, along with model estimation for S&P index returns, suggests that volatility moves are best captured by an infinite variation pure-jump martingale with a symmetric jump compensator around zero. The latter provides a parsimonious generalization of the jump-diffusions commonly used for volatility modeling.
Duke Scholars
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Related Subject Headings
- Econometrics
- 4905 Statistics
- 3802 Econometrics
- 3801 Applied economics
- 1403 Econometrics
- 1402 Applied Economics
- 0104 Statistics
Citation

Published In
DOI
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Related Subject Headings
- Econometrics
- 4905 Statistics
- 3802 Econometrics
- 3801 Applied economics
- 1403 Econometrics
- 1402 Applied Economics
- 0104 Statistics