Identifying Shock Propagation Mechanisms in Global Equity Markets

The intertemporal capital asset pricing model with time-varying price and quantity risk factors, is used to study the propagation mechanisms linking expected risk premia with shocks in global equity markets. The model allows for linear and nonlinear propagation channels with the relationship between expected risk premia and world and country shocks characterized by a bivariate cubic. Using daily data on developed and emerging country equity returns, the empirical results show that country risk prices are exposed to world risks, although the signs differ between developed and emerging countries. Country risk factors are especially important for risk prices in Asia-Pacific countries as well as selected emerging countries. Of the financial risk factors investigated, volatility risk is important for all developed countries, and currency basis risk is important for all emerging countries. The nonlinear propagation mechanisms linking shocks and expected risk premia are economically significant and show that the size and sign of shocks are important. Implications of the empirical results for international portfolio diversification are also investigated using a range of simulation experiments.