Financial Markets and Incomplete Information: Frontiers of Modern Financial Theory, Volume 2, Sudipto Bhattacharya and George M. Constantinides, eds. Totowa, N.J.: Rowman and Littlefield, 1989. 361 pp., ISBN 0-8476-7597-1

Abstract

Most books of readings contain an introduction by the editor(s) that attempts to synthesize the papers that have been chosen for inclusion. This book and its companion volume [reviewed previously in Duffie ( 1989)] depart from this pattern by, in addition, having either one or two discussions of each paper. This makes them considerably more useful than a standard book of readings since it allows a much broader perspective to be obtained. Rather than review each paper and discussion in turn, I will summarize my views on some of the strengths and weaknesses of the volume. The editors outline a number of their goals in the preface. The first is to collect some of the important papers published between 1973 and 1986 and combine these with discussions in an attempt to provide a summary of recent progress in theoretical financial economics for both specialists and nonspecialists. The second is to forecast the trends in theoretical financial economics. Finally, the volumes are meant to provide material for PhD-level courses and possibly advanced MBA and undergraduate courses.