International Asset Pricing: Evidence from the Cross Section of Implied Cost of Capital

Abstract
This study presents a new methodology for estimating international cost of capital. Using a discounted cash flow model, we estimate market implied risk premia for firms in the G-7 countries during the 1990 to 2000 time period. We find that the average risk premia in G-7 countries typically fall within a narrow range of 2% to 4%, and that risk premia are consistently higher for some countries and industries. Variables most useful in explaining cross-sectional variation in implied risk premia are return volatility, size, B/M ratio, analyst growth forecast, and lagged industry-country risk premia. Together, these variables explain 20% to 30% of the cross-sectional variation in international risk premia. Interestingly, beta measures from various international asset pricing models have little explanatory power, while betas corresponding to empirical size and book-to-market factors do much better.

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