While mainstream financial theories and applications assume that asset returns are normally distributed and individual preferences are quadratic, the overwhelming empirical evidence shows otherwise. Indeed, most of the asset returns exhibit "fat-tails" distributions and investors exhibit asymmetric preferences. These empirical findings lead to the development of a new area of research dedicated to the introduction of higher order moments in portfolio theory and asset pricing models. Multi-moment asset pricing is a revolutionary new way of model…

This is the first comprehensive introduction to the concepts, theories, and applications of pricing and revenue optimization. From the initial success of "yield management" in the commercial airline industry down to more recent successes of markdown management and dynamic pricing, the application of mathematical analysis to optimize pricing has become increasingly important across many different industries. But, since pricing and revenue optimization has involved the use of sophisticated mathematical techniques, the topic has remained largely i…

Focusing on the examples of China, Mexico, Morocco, South Africa, and Turkey, Pricing Irrigation Water provides a clear methodology for studying farm-level demand for irrigation water. This book is the first to link the macroeconomics of policies affecting trade to the microeconomics of water demand for irrigation and water user rights. This type of market reform, the contributors argue, will result in growing economic benefits to both rural and urban households.

"Stochastic Calculus for Finance" evolved from the first ten years of the Carnegie Mellon Professional Master's program in Computational Finance. The content of this book has been used successfully with students whose mathematics background consists of calculus and calculus-based probability. The text gives both precise statements of results, plausibility arguments, and even some proofs, but more importantly intuitive explanations developed and refine through classroom experience with this material are provided. The book includes a self-contain…

Asset pricing theory abounds with elegant mathematical models. The logic is so compelling that the models are widely used in policy, from banking, investments, and corporate finance to government. To what extent, however, can these models predict what actually happens in financial markets? In The Paradox of Asset Pricing, a leading financial researcher argues forcefully that the empirical record is weak at best. Peter Bossaerts undertakes the most thorough, technically sound investigation in many years into the scientific character of the prici…

For MBA or advanced undergraduate courses in Pricing Strategy or Pricing and Product Policy. Practical in focus and lively in style, this text provides a comprehensive, managerially-focused, integrated, step-by-step guide to pricing analysis and strategy development. Features and Benefits NEW - Updated, practical guide to legal limitations on pricing written by a leading industry consultant and practicing attorney (Gene Zellic) on this subject. NEW - New chapter on "Pricing in and through Channels of Distribution.". NEW - Expanded a…

KEY MESSAGE: Theory of Asset Pricing unifies the central tenets and techniques of asset valuation into a single, comprehensive resource that is ideal for the first PhD course in asset pricing. Single-Period Portfolio Choice and Asset Pricing: Expected Utility and Risk Aversion; Mean-Variance Analysis; CAPM, Arbitrage, and Linear Factor Models; Consumption-Savings and State Pricing; Multiperiod Consumption, Portfolio Choice, and Asset Pricing: A Multiperiod Discrete Time Model of Consupmtion; Multiperiod Market Equilibrium; Contingent Cl…

The cost of capital concept is widely used in business decision-making. The current theory and estimates for measurement of cost of capital are derived from the seminal Modigliani-Miller analyses. This book generalizes this framework to include non-debt tax shields (e.g., depreciation) and default considerations. It develops several new results and shows how better cost of capital and marginal tax rate estimates can be generated. The unified cost of capital theory presented in the book is illustrated graphically and with comprehensive numerical…

A resource for understanding and practising valuation of both common fixed income investment vehicles and complex derivative instruments. The book provides a framework for evaluating any fixed income product, valuation techniques for option embedded bonds and valuing interest rate caps and floors.

The challenges facing participants in competitive electricity markets are staggering: high price volatility introduces significant financial risk into an industry accustomed to guaranteed rates of return, while illiquid forward markets prevent effective hedging strategies from being implemented. This title examines the unique properties which separate electricity from other traded commodities, including the lack of economical storage, and the impact of a scarce transmission network. The authors trace the sources of uncertainties in the price of…