Finance
Wisdom of the Few? Prediction Markets Are Driven by a Small Number of Skilled Traders
A new study co-authored by Yale SOM’s Theis Jensen finds that a small group of informed traders drive prices—and take home a large portion of the profits.
What is a long life worth?
A document from 1787 Holland lists the names of girls whose income from government annuities was pooled and securitized, allowing investors to essentially bet that the girls would live a long time. Yale SOM Professors Will Goetzmann and Geert Rouwenhorst discuss how this novel financial device functioned and how it fits in the story of the development of more and more sophisticated securities.
Can markets change society?
Professor Zhiwu Chen has been watching what’s happened as China adopts such financial instruments as mortgages and mutual funds. He was born in a rural village in China, and when he goes back, he says, he sees a country that’s being remade by markets.