HEC Paris

About: HEC Paris is a education organization based out in Jouy-en-Josas, France. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Investment (macroeconomics) & Market liquidity. The organization has 584 authors who have published 2756 publications receiving 104467 citations. The organization is also known as: Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales & HEC School of Management Paris.

Buying Beauty: On Prices and Returns in the Art Market

Abstract: This paper investigates the price determinants and investment performance of art. We apply a hedonic regression analysis to a new data set of over one million auction transactions of paintings and works on paper. Based on the resulting price index, we conclude that art has appreciated in value by a moderate 3.97% per year, in real U.S. dollar terms, between 1957 and 2007. This is a performance similar to that of corporate bonds – at much higher risk. A repeat-sales regression on a subset of the data demonstrates the robustness of our index. Next, quantile regressions document larger average price appreciations (and higher volatilities) in more expensive price brackets. We also find variation in historical returns across mediums and movements. Finally, we show that measures of high-income consumer confidence and art market sentiment predict art price trends.

Leadership and the Logic of Absurdity

Abstract: Leaders are often thought to meaningfully influence the performance of the organizations they lead. However, considerable research suggests that their impact on organizational performance might actually be minimal. These claims of leader irrelevance pose a puzzle: If leaders are relatively insignificant, why would someone commit to leading? Applying decision-making theory, I first consider justifying the decision to lead according to the logics of consequence and appropriateness—the two principal decision-making logics underlying previous work on the motivation to lead. I then present the logic of absurdity—a decision-making logic in which decision makers knowingly choose to dedicate themselves to an irrational course of action. In terms of the decision to lead, a decision maker employing the logic of absurdity acknowledges the likely futility of leading but decides to commit to it nonetheless. I conclude by considering when leaders are most likely to decide to lead according to the logic of absurdity and...

Demand for Information, Uncertainty, and the Response of U.S. Treasury Securities to News

Abstract: We use clickstream data to show that investors' demand for information about macroeconomic factors affecting the path of future interest rates is a measure of their uncertainty about this path. In particular, an increase in information demand ahead of influential economic announcements affecting investors' beliefs about future interest rates predicts a stronger reaction of U.S. Treasury note yields to these announcements, as it should if information demand covaries positively with uncertainty. This relationship does not vanish after using standard measures of uncertainty as predictors, suggesting that clickstream data contain unique information about investors' uncertainty.

The Private Production of Safe Assets

Abstract: Do claims on the private sector serve the role of safe assets? We answer this question using high-frequency panel data on prices and quantities of certificates of deposit (CD) and commercial paper (CP) issued in Europe. We show that only very short-term private securities benefit from a premium for safety. Using several identification strategies, we show that the issuance of short-term CDs, but not of CPs, strongly responds to measures of safety demand. The private production of safe assets is stronger for issuers with high credit worthiness, and breaks down during episodes of market stress. We conclude that even very short-term private assets are sensitive to changes in the information environment and should not be treated as equally safe at all times.