Mean Reversion on Global Stock Markets

This paper focuses on mean reversion on international stock markets and explores whether this empirical observation is compatible with a rational, general equilibrium asset pricing model. We consider a simple time series model with switching regimes for the consumption process in the G-7 countries and compare the simulated returns with historical stock market data. Our results show that for most countries the empirical mean reversion produces no challenge for an equilibrium model. Short-run momentum, however, cannot be explained within the same simple framework.