HEC Paris

About: HEC Paris is a education organization based out in Jouy-en-Josas, France. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Market liquidity & Entrepreneurship. The organization has 584 authors who have published 2756 publications receiving 104467 citations. The organization is also known as: Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales & HEC School of Management Paris.

Investigating capitalism aversion

Abstract: Capitalism aversion: There are two non-mutually exclusive theories of individual variations in pro-capitalism opinions The first theory views pro-capitalism opinions as self-serving: Individuals are opposed to market forces when they threaten their economic rents The second theory views differences in such opinions as reflecting genuine disagreement on the efficiency of various economic systems Using individual data, we investigate the validity of both theories, focusing on attitudes toward private ownership, private profit and competition We find evidence that the first theory explains some of the variations in attitudes However, consistent with the second theory, we also find evidence of individual learning about the comparative virtues of economic systems The learning is slow, home-biased and path-dependent Long-run cultural and historical determinants of pro-market attitudes, such as religion and legal origins, explain more than 40% of the cross-country variations in capitalism aversion Last, we provide tentative evidence that at the country level, pro-market opinions affect the nature of economic institutions Our results suggest that the feasibility of economic reform does not depend solely on its impact on the distribution of rents; ideological a-prioris are likely to be important as well

Floor versus Screen Trading: Evidence from the German Stock Market *

Abstract: The last decade has witnessed a dramatic increase in both the number and the market share of screen-based trading systems. Electronic trading systems do offer lower operating costs and the possibility of remote access to the market. On the other hand, arguments based on the anonymity of electronic trading systems suggest that adverse selection may be a more severe problem and that, therefore, bid-ask spreads may be higher. The present paper addresses the issue of transaction costs in floor and computerized trading systems empirically. In Germany, floor and screen trading for the same stocks exist in parallel. Both markets are liquid and operate simultaneously for several hours each day. An analysis of the bid-ask spreads reveals that the electronic trading system is relatively less attractive for less liquid stocks. The market shares of the competing systems reveal a similar pattern. The market share of the electronic trading system is negatively related to the total trading volume of the stock, is positively related to the difference between spreads on the floor and in the screen trading system and is at least partially negatively related to return volatility. We further document that spreads in the electronic trading system respond more heavily to changes in return volatility and that the adverse selection component of the spread is larger. We discuss implications our results have for the design of electronic trading systems.

Data Abundance and Asset Price Informativeness

Abstract: We consider a model in which investors can acquire either raw or processed information about the payoff of a risky asset. Information processing filters out the noise in raw information but it takes time. Hence, investors buying processed information trade with a lag relative to investors buying raw information. As the cost of raw information declines, more investors trade on it, which reduces the value of processed information, unless raw information is very unreliable. Thus, a decline in the cost of raw information can reduce the demand for processed information and, for this reason, the informativeness of the asset price in the long run.

Cross-Listing, Investment Sensitivity to Stock Price and the Learning Hypothesis

Abstract: We show that the sensitivity of corporate investment to stock price is higher for firms cross-listed in the U.S. than for firms that never cross-list. This difference is strong, does not exist prior to the cross-listing date, and does not vanish over time after this date. Moreover, the impact of a U.S. cross-listing on the investment-to-price sensitivity is not primarily driven by the improvements in corporate governance, disclosure, and access to capital typically associated with a U.S cross-listing. Instead, we argue that a cross-listing enhances managers’ reliance on stock prices because it makes stock prices more informative to managers. In support of this learning hypothesis, we find that the positive impact of a U.S. cross-listing on the investment-to-price sensitivity is higher when a cross-listing is more likely to stimulate trading based on information that is new to managers.