
Expected stock returns and variance risk premia
Motivated by the implications from a stylized self-contained general equilibrium model incorporating the effects of time-varying economic uncertainty, we show that the difference between implied and realized variation, or the variance risk premium, is able to explain a nontrivial fraction of the time-series variation in post-1990 aggregate stock market returns, with high (low) premia predicting high (low) future returns. Our empirical results depend crucially on the use of "model-free," as opposed to Black-Scholes, options implied volatilities, along with accurate realized variation measures constructed from high-frequency intraday as opposed to daily data. The magnitude of the predictability is particularly strong at the intermediate quarterly return horizon, where it dominates that afforded by other popular predictor variables, such as the P/E ratio, the default spread, and the consumption-wealth ratio.
Duke Scholars
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- Finance
- 3801 Applied economics
- 3502 Banking, finance and investment
- 1502 Banking, Finance and Investment
- 1402 Applied Economics
- 1401 Economic Theory
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Published In
DOI
EISSN
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Related Subject Headings
- Finance
- 3801 Applied economics
- 3502 Banking, finance and investment
- 1502 Banking, Finance and Investment
- 1402 Applied Economics
- 1401 Economic Theory