Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-tn8tq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-27T21:09:24.807Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Stock Market Mispricing: Money Illusion or Resale Option?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2009

Carl R. Chen
Affiliation:
School of Business Administration, University of Dayton, 300 College Park, Dayton, OH 45469. chen@udayton.edu
Peter P. Lung
Affiliation:
College of Business, University of Texas at Arlington, Box 19366, Arlington, TX 76019. lungpeip@uta.edu
F. Albert Wang
Affiliation:
School of Business Administration, University of Dayton, 300 College Park, Dayton, OH 45469. albert.wang@udayton.edu

Abstract

We examine two hypotheses to explain stock mispricing: i) the money illusion hypothesis (Modigliani and Cohn (1979)) and ii) the resale option hypothesis (Scheinkman and Xiong (2003)). We find that the money illusion hypothesis may explain the level, but not the volatility, of mispricing in the U.S. market. In contrast, the stock resale option hypothesis, which stems from heterogeneous beliefs about future dividend growth rates and short-sale constraints, can explain both the level and the volatility of mispricing. The evidence suggests that while the two hypotheses complement each other in explaining the level of mispricing, the resale option hypothesis provides a more coherent explanation for asset price bubbles, in which extraordinarily high price levels are often accompanied by excessive volatility and frenzied trading.

Type
Research Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Michael G. Foster School of Business, University of Washington 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bai, J., and Perron, P.. “Estimating and Testing Linear Models with Multiple Structural Changes.” Econometrica, 66 (1998), 4768.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bai, J., and Perron, P.. “Computation and Analysis of Multiple Structural Change Models.” Journal of Applied Econometrics, 18 (2003), 122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bai, J., and Perron, P.. “Multiple Structural Change Models: A Simulation Study.” In Econometric Essays, Corbea, D., Durlauf, S., and Hansen, B. E., eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2004).Google Scholar
Basak, S., and Yan, H.. “Equilibrium Asset Prices and Investor Behavior in the Presence of Money Illusion.” Working Paper, London Business School and Yale University (2007).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Black, F. “Studies of Stock Price Volatility Changes.” In Proceedings of the Meetings of the American Statistical Association, Business and Economics Section. Chicago: American Statistical Association (1976).Google Scholar
Bollen, N. P. B., and Whaley, R.. “Does Net Buying Pressure Affect the Shape of Implied Volatility Functions?Journal of Finance, 59 (2004), 711753.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brunnermeier, M. K., and Julliard, C.. “Money Illusion and Housing Frenzies.” Review of Financial Studies, 21 (2008), 135180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buraschi, A., and Jiltsov, A.. “Model Uncertainty and Option Markets with Heterogeneous Beliefs.” Journal of Finance, 61 (2006), 28412897.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, J. Y. “A Variance Decomposition for Stock Returns.” Economic Journal, 101 (1991), 157179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, J. Y. “Asset Pricing at the Millennium.” Journal of Finance, 55 (2000), 15151567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, J. Y., and Mei, J.. “Where Do Betas Come From? Asset Price Dynamics and the Sources of Systematic Risk.” Review of Financial Studies, 6 (1993), 567592.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, J. Y., and Shiller, R. J.. “The Dividend-Price Ratio and Expectations of Future Dividends and Discount Factors.” Review of Financial Studies, 1 (1988), 195228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, J. Y., and Vuolteenaho, T.. “Money Illusion and Stock Prices.” American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, 94 (2004), 1923.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, C. R.; Lung, P. P.; and Wang, F. A.. “Mispricing and the Cross-Section of Stock Returns.” Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, 32 (2009), 317349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, J.; Hong, H.; and Stein, J.. “Breadth of Ownership and Stock Returns.” Journal of Financial Economics, 66 (2002), 171205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chordia, T.; Roll, R.; and Subrahmanyam, A.. “Commonality in Liquidity.” Journal of Financial Economics, 56 (2000), 328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chordia, T., and Shivakumar, L.. “Inflation Illusion and Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift.” Journal of Accounting Research, 43 (2005), 521556.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, R. B.; Polk, C.; and Vuolteenaho, T.. “Money Illusion in the Stock Market: The Modigliani–Cohn Hypothesis.” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 120 (2005), 639668.Google Scholar
Daniel, K.; Hirshleifer, D.; and Subrahmanyam, A.. “Investor Psychology and Security Market Under- and Overreactions.” Journal of Finance, 53 (1998), 18391885.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Bondt, W. F. M. “Betting on Trends: Intuitive Forecasts of Financial Risk and Return.” International Journal of Forecasting, 9 (1993), 355371.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Bondt, W. F. M., and Thaler, R. H.. “Does the Stock Market Overreact?Journal of Finance, 40 (1985), 793805.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diebold, F. Elements of Forecasting. Cincinnati, OH: South-Western Publishing (1998).Google Scholar
Dumas, B.; Kurshev, A.; and Uppal, R.. “What Can Rational Investors Do About Excess Volatility and Sentiment Fluctuations.” Working Paper, INSEAD and London Business School (2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fama, E. F. “Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work.” Journal of Finance, 25 (1970), 383417.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, M., and Raviv, A.. “Differences of Opinion Make a Horse Race.” Review of Financial Studies, 6 (1993), 473506.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrison, J. M., and Kreps, D.. “Speculative Investor Behavior in a Stock Market with Heterogeneous Expectations.” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 89 (1978), 323336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hasbrouck, J. “Trading Costs and Returns for U.S. Equities: The Evidence from Daily Data.” Working Paper, New York University (2005).Google Scholar
Hong, H.; Scheinkman, J. A.; and Xiong, W.. “Asset Float and Speculative Bubbles.” Journal of Finance, 61 (2006), 10731117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kyle, A. S., and Wang, F. A.. “Speculation Duopoly with Agreement to Disagree: Can Overconfidence Survive the Market Test?Journal of Finance, 52 (1997), 20732090.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lettau, M., and Nieuwerburgh, S. V.. “Reconciling the Return Predictability Evidence.” Review of Financial Studies, 21 (2008), 16071652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mei, J.; Scheinkman, J. A.; and Xiong, W.. “Speculative Trading and Stock Prices: Evidence from Chinese A–B Share Premia.” Working Paper, Princeton University (2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, E. M. “Risk, Uncertainty, and Divergence of Opinion.” Journal of Finance, 32 (1977), 11511168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Modigliani, F., and Cohn, R.. “Inflation, Rational Valuation, and the Market.” Financial Analysts Journal, 37 (1979), 2444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Odean, T. “Volume, Volatility, Price, and Profit When All Traders Are Above Average.” Journal of Finance, 53 (1998), 18871934.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ofek, E., and Richardson, M.. “DotCom Mania: The Rise and Fall of Internet Stock Prices.” Journal of Finance, 58 (2003), 11131137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pástor, L., and Stambaugh, R. F.. “Liquidity Risk and Expected Stock Returns.” Journal of Political Economy, 111 (2003), 642685.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piazzesi, M., and Schneider, M.. “Inflation Illusion, Credit and Asset Prices.” In Asset Prices and Monetary Policy, Campbell, J. Y., ed. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press (2008).Google Scholar
Ritter, J. R., and Warr, R. S.. “The Decline of Inflation and the Bull Market of 1982–1999.” Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 37 (2002), 2961.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roll, R. “A Simple Implicit Measure of the Effective Bid-Ask Spread in an Efficient Market.” Journal of Finance, 39 (1984), 11271139.Google Scholar
Scheinkman, J. A., and Xiong, W.. “Overconfidence and Speculative Bubbles.” Journal of Political Economy, 111 (2003), 11831219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shefrin, H. “Irrational Exuberance and Option Smiles.” Financial Analysts Journal, 55 (1999), 91103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shefrin, H., and Statman, M.. “Behavioral Capital Asset Pricing Theory.” Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 29 (1994), 323349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shiller, R. J. “Do Stock Prices Move Too Much to Be Justified by Subsequent Changes in Dividends?American Economic Review, 71 (1981), 421436.Google Scholar
Shleifer, A., and Vishny, R.. “The Limits of Arbitrage.” Journal of Finance, 52 (1997), 3555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, F. A. “Strategic Trading, Asymmetric Information and Heterogeneous Prior Beliefs.” Journal of Financial Markets, 1 (1998), 321352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, H. “A Heteroskedasticity-Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator and a Direct Test for Heteroskedasticity.” Econometrica, 48 (1980), 817838.CrossRefGoogle Scholar