Advisors and Asset Prices: A Model of the Origins of Bubbles

48 Pages Posted: 16 Oct 2007 Last revised: 26 Nov 2022

See all articles by José A. Scheinkman

José A. Scheinkman

Columbia University; Princeton University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Wei Xiong

Princeton University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Harrison G. Hong

Columbia University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: October 2007

Abstract

We develop a model of asset price bubbles based on the communication process between advisors and investors. Advisors are well-intentioned and want to maximize the welfare of their advisees (like a parent treats a child). But only some advisors understand the new technology (the tech-savvies); others do not and can only make a downward-biased recommendation (the old-fogies). While smart investors recognize the heterogeneity in advisors, naive ones mistakenly take whatever is said at face value. Tech-savvies inflate their forecasts to signal that they are not old-fogies, since more accurate information about their type improves the welfare of investors in the future. A bubble arises for a wide range of parameters, and its size is maximized when there is a mix of smart and naive investors in the economy. Our model suggests an alternative source for stock over-valuation in addition to investor overreaction to news and sell-side bias.

Suggested Citation

Scheinkman, José and Xiong, Wei and Hong, Harrison G., Advisors and Asset Prices: A Model of the Origins of Bubbles (October 2007). NBER Working Paper No. w13504, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1021982

José Scheinkman (Contact Author)

Columbia University ( email )

3022 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
United States

Princeton University - Department of Economics ( email )

26 Prospect Avenue
Princeton, NJ 08544
United States
609-258-4020 (Phone)
609-258-6419 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.princeton.edu/~joses

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Wei Xiong

Princeton University - Department of Economics ( email )

Princeton, NJ 08544-1021
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Harrison G. Hong

Columbia University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Economics ( email )

420 W. 118th Street
New York, NY 10027
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
108
Abstract Views
2,462
Rank
453,810
PlumX Metrics