Analysis of asset pricing models under an epistemic approach of positivism/post-positivism and constructivism

Abstract

This article aimed to conduct an epistemological evaluation of research methods in finance by means of an analysis of asset pricing models under the philosophical currents of positivism/post-positivism and constructivism. Thus, we explain the adequacy of these models to society, understanding that the phenomena under study are not repetitive, but subject to analysis. We show evidence that the asset pricing models have methodological characteristics that fit both positivism and post-positivism, as well as constructivism, considering the possibility to misrepresent the hypotheses and their adequacy to investor's subjectivities. The results obtained in this theoretical survey suggest that classical finance and their subsequent behavioral contributions highlight positivist methods subject to misrepresentation of hypotheses and, as a consequence, a science under construction, demonstrating the complementarity between the epistemological views presented.

Keywords:
Asset Pricing Models; Positivism; Post-Positivism; Constructivism.