Neglected Risks: The Psychology of Financial Crises

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2015
Volume: 105
Issue: 5
Pages: 310-14

Score contribution per author:

2.681 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We model a financial market in which investor beliefs are shaped by representativeness. Investors overreact to a series of good news, because such a series is representative of a good state. A few bad news do not change investor minds because the good state is still representative, but enough bad news leads to a radical change in beliefs and a financial crisis. The model generates debt over-issuance, "this time is different" beliefs, neglect of tail risks, under- and over-reaction to information, boom-bust cycles, and excess volatility of prices in a unified psychological model of expectations.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:105:y:2015:i:5:p:310-14
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25