The Legacy of Stephen A. Ross

Abstract

Stephen A. Ross had an uncanny talent for translating economic theory into intuitive and rigorous concepts that were useful to researchers and practitioners alike. His most famous accomplishment, the arbitrage pricing theory, has inspired the ongoing search for factors that explain security returns. His work on agency theory is applied to portfolio performance evaluation and compensation. This introduction summarizes the contributions in this issue primarily from his former students and colleagues, who reflect on what they learned from Steve, how he influenced their work, and how his ideas continue to be adapted and refined.

Keywords: arbitrage pricing theory, agency theory, binomial pricing model, economic theory, empirical research, equilibrium theory, factors, factor models, term structure of interest rates, finance education, financial economics, financial research, recovery theorem, risk-neutral pricing, Stephen Ross

JEL Classification: A, A23, B26, B31, D5, D46, E43, G, G11, G12