Real Options Under Ambiguity
Author | : David Roubaud |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 219 |
Release | : 2011 |
ISBN-10 | : OCLC:800637048 |
ISBN-13 | : |
Rating | : 4/5 (48 Downloads) |
Download or read book Real Options Under Ambiguity written by David Roubaud and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The need to elaborate innovative methods to analyze risk and uncertainty has become increasingly obvious over the last decades, especially due the growing perception of the multiplicity of social and economical issues characterized by the weight of uncertainty (natural disasters, ecological risk, financial crises...).This thesis is at the crossroad between decision theory under uncertainty and the irreversible investment theory (real options). Consequently, the main goal of this thesis is three-fold: 1. First, it contributes to the dynamic stream of literature in economics and finance that models the impact of ambiguity that individuals may often face and/or perceive when contemplating irreversible choices.2. Next, this thesis emphasizes that even with the plethora of decision models already dealing with uncertainty, elaborating sound axiomatic foundations largely remains an open question. This leads us to recommending the use of non linear models (such as multiple-priors, Choquet expected utility, robust control, smooth ambiguity), which in turn raises many challenging theoretical and practical obstacles. We explore original ways of addressing some of these issues and suggest the construction of ambiguous stochastic processes in a Choquet expected utility framework (that are called Choquet-Brownian motions): ambiguity preferences are thereby directly embedded into the trajectory of some random variables that may drive a decision, such as the expected cash flows of an investment project or its exit value.3. Finally, this thesis also aims specifically at encouraging the enrichment of real option models. It is striking that only the impact of risk has been widely discussed by the real option theory so far, while the specific impact of ambiguity has been largely ignored. Considering that the real option theory is directly concerned with sources of flexibility, irreversibility and uncertainty in general, ambiguity represents a promising expansion.