Description:
Does market volatility increase ? The French stock exchange has known a deep fall in prices for 3 years with great uncertainties on economic activity and firms' finances. So, this article deals with the size of market' s turbulences, their origins and the measures to take. A proper diagnosis implies a distinction between cyclical or structural trends based on historical analysis and theoretical results. This article presents the basis of volatility as risk measurement and the difficulties to use it. The authors compare the current volatility of prices and its long term trend. They base their analysis on new theoretical or empirical results. JEL classifications : G10, G14