408. Testing for the Existence of a Generalized Wiener Process: the Case of Stock Prices

Melvin. J. Hinich, Phillip Wild, and John Foster, School of Economics Discussion Paper No. 408, March 2010, School of Economics, The University of Queensland. Australia.

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Abstract

In this article, we present two nonparametric trispectrum based tests for testing the hypothesis that an observed time series was generated by what we call a generalized Wiener process (GWP). Assuming the existence of a Weiner process for asset rates of return is critical to the Black-Scholes model and its extension by Merton (BSM). The Hinich trispectrum-based test of linearity and the trispectrum extension of the Hinich-Rothman bispectrum test for time reversibility are used to test the validity of BSM. We apply the tests to a selection of high frequency NYSE and Australian (ASX) stocks.