A measure of stock market integration for developed and emerging markets

If equity markets are financially integrated, the price of risk should be the same across markets. If the markets are not financially integrated - possibly because of barriers to capital flows across markets - the price of risk may differ across markets. The author investigates one measure of financial integration between equity markets. He uses a multifactor equilibrium Arbitrage Pricing Theory to define risk and to measure deviations from the"law of one price."He applies the integration measure to equities traded in 24 countries (four developed, and 20 emerging). The measure of market segmentation tends to be much larger for emerging markets than for developed markets, which is consistent with larger barriers to capital flows into or out of the emerging markets. The measure tends to decrease over time, which is consistent with growing levels of integration. Large values of adjusted mispricing occur around periods of economic turbulence and periods in which capital controls change significantly. So, the adjusted mispricing estimates measure not only the level of deviation from the law of one price, but also the revaluations inherent in moving from one regime to another.Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Markets and Market Access,Banks&Banking Reform,Access to Markets,Markets and Market Access,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Economic Theory&Research

Understanding Stock Price Behavior around the Time of Equity Issues

It is well-documented that stock prices rise significantly prior to an equity issue, and fall upon announcement of the issue. We expand on earlier studies by using a large sample which includes OTC firms, by examining the cross-sectional properties of the price rise, and by using accounting data to track the pattern of debt ratios and Tobin's q around the time of equity issues. We consider a number of explanations for our results, and conclude that the data is largely consistent with informational models in which managers are asymmetrically informed about the value of the firm. Surprisingly, debt ratios do not increase prior to equity issues, suggesting that strained debt capacity is not the main reason for equity issues. The behavior of Tobin's q is consistent with equity issues being used to finance new investments.

Non-Standard Errors

In statistics, samples are drawn from a population in a data-generating process (DGP). Standard errors measure the uncertainty in estimates of population parameters. In science, evidence is generated to test hypotheses in an evidence-generating process (EGP). We claim that EGP variation across researchers adds uncertainty: Non-standard errors (NSEs). We study NSEs by letting 164 teams test the same hypotheses on the same data. NSEs turn out to be sizable, but smaller for better reproducible or higher rated research. Adding peer-review stages reduces NSEs. We further find that this type of uncertainty is underestimated by participants

A Test for the Number of Factors in an Approximate Factor Model.

An important issue in applications of multifactor models of asset returns is the appropriate number of factors. Most extant tests for the number of factors are valid only for strict factor models, in which diversifiable returns are uncorrelated across assets. In this paper, the authors develop a test statistic to determine the number of factors in an approximate factor model of asset returns, which does not require that diversifiable components of returns be uncorrelated across assets. They find evidence for one to six pervasive factors in the cross section of New York Stock Exchange and American Stock Exchange stock returns. Copyright 1993 by American Finance Association.