INVITATION
The WU Gutmann Center cordially invites you to the forthcoming TWO
WU GUTMANN CENTER PUBLIC LECTURES
www.gutmann-center.at
(apologies for duplicated mails!)
****************************************************************************
Date: DECEMBER 5 (Monday), 2011 – 4:00 pm
Location: Bank Gutmann AG, Schwarzenbergplatz 16, 1010 Wien
Speaker: Prof. Dr. LUBOS PASTOR, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
http://www.ChicagoBooth.edu/fac/lubos.pastor/
Title: POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY AND THE STOCK MARKET
Abstract:
We study the pricing of political uncertainty in a general equilibrium model of government
policy choice. We find that political uncertainty commands a risk premium whose magnitude
is larger in poorer economic conditions. Political uncertainty reduces the value of the
implicit put protection that the government provides to the market. It also makes stocks
more volatile and more correlated when the economy is weak. In addition, we find that
government policies cannot be judged by the stock market response to their announcement.
Announcements of deeper reforms tend to elicit less favorable stock market reactions.
Further information about talk & speaker:
http://www.wu.ac.at/gc/whatwedo/bridging/lectures
****************************************************************************
Date: DECEMBER 15 (Thursday), 2011 – 4:00 pm
Location: Bank Gutmann AG, Schwarzenbergplatz 16, 1010 Wien
Speaker: Prof. Dr. JEFFREY R. BROWN
http://business.illinois.edu/jbrown/
Title: BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF INSURING LIFETIME INCOME
Abstract:
Economists have long been puzzled by why so few individuals choose to take steps to ensure
that they will have guaranteed income for life. After many decades of research having
failed to provide a robust answer to this "annuity puzzle," psychologists and
behavioral economists have begun to explore alternative explanations for consumers'
aversion to annuities and other lifetime income products. This emerging literature
suggests that individuals' observed reluctance to insure length-of-life risks is not
fully rational. This talk will discuss some "non-rational" explanations for
retiree behavior, including the role of complexity, poor financial literacy, sensitivity
to framing, the role of default options, and "rules of thumb" that consumers
follow when making decisions about lifetime income. The discussion will also focus on the
implications of these findings for private markets and public policy responses.
Further information about talk & speaker:
http://www.wu.ac.at/gc/whatwedo/bridging/lectures
****************************************************************************
Please contact gutmann-center(a)wu.ac.at if you do not wish to receive any further
invitations from us!
Please REGISTER:
Mail: gutmann-center(a)wu.ac.at
Phone: +43-1-31336-4244
Contact and further information:
WU Gutmann Center for Portfolio Management
WU (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien) - Department of Finance, Accounting and Statistics
Mag. Dorothea GRIMM
www.gutmann-center.at