← Search

American Economic Review Vol. 103 No. 3 2013

Financial Innovation and Portfolio Risks

Alp Simsek

Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, E52-251C, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142.

open access

Abstract

I illustrate the effect of financial innovation on portfolio risks by using an example with risk-sharing needs and belief disagreements. I consider two types of innovation: product innovation, formalized as an expansion of new financial assets; and process innovation, formalized as a reduction in transaction costs. When belief disagreements are large, both types of innovation increase portfolio risks. Moreover, endogenous financial innovation is directed towards speculative assets that increase portfolio risks.

DOI
10.1257/aer.103.3.398
Volume
103
Issue
3
Pages
398-401
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref openalex

Cite