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The Equity Premium in Retrospect

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Listed:
  • Rajnish Mehra
  • Edward C. Prescott
Abstract
This article takes a critical look at the literature on equity premium puzzle - the inability of standard intertemporal economic models to rationalize the statistics that have characterized U.S. financial markets over the past century. A summary of historical returns for the United States and other industrialized countries and an overview of the economic construct itself are provided. The intuition behind the discrepancy between model prediction and empirical data is explained and the research efforts to enhance the model's ability to replicate the empirical data are summarized.

Suggested Citation

  • Rajnish Mehra & Edward C. Prescott, 2003. "The Equity Premium in Retrospect," NBER Working Papers 9525, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:9525
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • E2 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment

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