Non-substitutable consumption growth risk

Abstract

Standard applications of the consumption-based asset pricing model make the assumption that goods and services within the nondurable consumption bundle are substitutes. We estimate substitution elasticities between different consumption bundles and show that households cannot substitute energy consumption by consumption of other nondurable goods or services. As a consequence, energy consumption shows up as a separate factor in the pricing kernel. Cross-sectional variation in energy consumption betas explains a large part of the value premium. Value stocks are typically more energy-intensive than growth stocks and thus riskier, since they suffer more from the oil supply shocks that also affect households.

Keywords: asset pricing, consumption, cross-section of stock returns, utility functions

JEL Classification: G12, E44, D81