IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/aareaj/333771.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is there evidence of insider trading in Australian water markets?

Author

Listed:
  • de Bonviller, Simon
  • Zuo, Alec
  • Wheeler, Sarah Ann

Abstract

Insider trading is a much studied form of market manipulation in the financial market literature. However, studies addressing the issue of insider trading in resource markets, and in particular water markets, are rare. This study investigates the occurrence of insider trading practices around important water market allocation announcements in the Goulburn temporary water market trading zone in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia, which is one of the largest and longest operating water market districts in the world. Nine years of daily water allocation volume and price transactions between 2008 and 2017 are modelled, with some evidence found of abnormal price movements in the 3 or 5 days preceding water allocation announcements, and especially before the introduction of insider trading rules in 2014. However, although the results do suggest some very weak statistically significant evidence that insider trading may still be present in Goulburn water markets post-2014, it is just as feasible that our results may also reflect an increased sophistication of trader behaviour over time.

Suggested Citation

  • de Bonviller, Simon & Zuo, Alec & Wheeler, Sarah Ann, 2019. "Is there evidence of insider trading in Australian water markets?," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 60(2), April.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aareaj:333771
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.333771
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/333771/files/ajar12298.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.333771?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jensen, Michael C. & Ruback, Richard S., 1983. "The market for corporate control : The scientific evidence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(1-4), pages 5-50, April.
    2. Connor, Jeffery D. & Schwabe, Kurt & King, Darran & Knapp, Keith, 2012. "Irrigated agriculture and climate change: The influence of water supply variability and salinity on adaptation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 149-157.
    3. Chakravarty, Sugato, 2001. "Stealth-trading: Which traders' trades move stock prices?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 289-307, August.
    4. Utpal Bhattacharya & Hazem Daouk, 2002. "The World Price of Insider Trading," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 75-108, February.
    5. Wheeler, Sarah Ann & Bjornlund, Henning & Shanahan, Martin & Zuo, Alec, 2008. "Price elasticity of water allocations demand in the Goulburn–Murray Irrigation District," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 52(1), pages 1-19.
    6. Randall, Alan, 1981. "Property Entitlements And Pricing Policies For A Maturing Water Economy," Australian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 25(3), pages 1-26, December.
    7. Robert Brooks & Edwyna Harris & Yovina Joymungul, 2013. "Price clustering in Australian water markets," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(6), pages 677-685, February.
    8. Gupta, Atul & Misra, Lalatendu, 1988. "Illegal Insider Trading: Is It Rampant before Corporate Takeovers?," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 23(4), pages 453-464, November.
    9. Donna Brennan, 2006. "Water policy reform in Australia: lessons from the Victorian seasonal water market ," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 50(3), pages 403-423, September.
    10. Qureshi, Muhammad Ejaz & Connor, Jeffery D. & Kirby, Mac & Mainuddin, Mohammed, 2007. "Economic assessment of acquiring water for environmental flows in the Murray Basin," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 51(3), pages 1-21.
    11. Angelo Aspris & Sean Foley & Alex Frino & Robert Faff, 2014. "Does insider trading explain price run-up ahead of takeover announcements?," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 54(1), pages 25-45, March.
    12. Keown, Arthur J & Pinkerton, John M, 1981. "Merger Announcements and Insider Trading Activity: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 36(4), pages 855-869, September.
    13. repec:bla:canjag:v:58:y:2010:i:s1:p:531-554 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Gregoire, Philippe & Huang, Hui, 2008. "Informed trading, noise trading and the cost of equity," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 13-32.
    15. Kyle, Albert S, 1985. "Continuous Auctions and Insider Trading," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 53(6), pages 1315-1335, November.
    16. Alan Randall, 1981. "Property Entitlements And Pricing Policies For A Maturing Water Economy," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 25(3), pages 195-220, December.
    17. R. Quentin Grafton & Gary Libecap & Samuel McGlennon & Clay Landry & Bob O'Brien, 2011. "An Integrated Assessment of Water Markets: A Cross-Country Comparison," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 5(2), pages 219-239, Summer.
    18. John Quiggin & David Adamson & Sarah Chambers & Peggy Schrobback, 2010. "Climate Change, Uncertainty, and Adaptation: The Case of Irrigated Agriculture in the Murray–Darling Basin in Australia," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 58(4), pages 531-554, December.
    19. R. Quentin Grafton & James Horne & Sarah Ann Wheeler, 2016. "On the Marketisation of Water: Evidence from the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(3), pages 913-926, February.
    20. Loch, Adam & Bjornlund, Henning & Wheeler, Sarah & Connor, Jeff, 2012. "Allocation trade in Australia: a qualitative understanding or irrigator motives and behaviour," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 56(1), pages 1-19, March.
    21. R. Quentin Grafton & Sarah Ann Wheeler, 2018. "Economics of Water Recovery in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 10(1), pages 487-510, October.
    22. Park, Young S. & Lee, Jaehyun, 2010. "Detecting insider trading: The theory and validation in Korea Exchange," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(9), pages 2110-2120, September.
    23. Kwiatkowski, Denis & Phillips, Peter C. B. & Schmidt, Peter & Shin, Yongcheol, 1992. "Testing the null hypothesis of stationarity against the alternative of a unit root : How sure are we that economic time series have a unit root?," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1-3), pages 159-178.
    24. Grossman, Sanford J & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1976. "Information and Competitive Price Systems," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 66(2), pages 246-253, May.
    25. Crase, Lin & O'Reilly, Leo & Dollery, Brian, 2000. "Water markets as a vehicle for water reform: the case of New South Wales," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 44(2), pages 1-23.
    26. Peterson, Deborah C. & Dwyer, Gavan & Appels, David & Fry, Jane, 2004. "Modelling Water Trade in the Southern Murray-Darling Basin," Staff Working Papers 31925, Productivity Commission.
    27. Robert Brooks & Edwyna Harris & Yovina Joymungul, 2009. "Market depth in an illiquid market: applying the VNET concept to Victorian water markets," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(13), pages 1361-1364.
    28. Brooks, Robert & Harris, Edwyna, 2014. "Price leadership and information transmission in Australian water allocation markets," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 83-91.
    29. Brooks, Robert & Harris, Edwyna, 2008. "Efficiency gains from water markets: Empirical analysis of Watermove in Australia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(4), pages 391-399, April.
    30. Chen Gu & Alexander Kurov, 2018. "What drives informed trading before public releases? Evidence from natural gas inventory announcements," Journal of Futures Markets, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(9), pages 1079-1096, September.
    31. Leland, Hayne E, 1992. "Insider Trading: Should It Be Prohibited?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(4), pages 859-887, August.
    32. Meulbroek, Lisa K, 1992. "An Empirical Analysis of Illegal Insider Trading," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(5), pages 1661-1699, December.
    33. Deborah Peterson & Gavan Dwyer & David Appels & Jane Fry, 2005. "Water Trade in the Southern Murray–Darling Basin," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 81(s1), pages 115-127, August.
    34. Olmo, Jose & Pilbeam, Keith & Pouliot, William, 2011. "Detecting the presence of insider trading via structural break tests," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 2820-2828, November.
    35. Bernile, Gennaro & Hu, Jianfeng & Tang, Yuehua, 2016. "Can information be locked up? Informed trading ahead of macro-news announcements," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(3), pages 496-520.
    36. S. Wheeler & A. Zuo & H. Bjornlund & C. Lane Miller, 2012. "Selling the Farm Silver? Understanding Water Sales to the Australian Government," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 52(1), pages 133-154, May.
    37. Fishe, Raymond P. H. & Robe, Michel A., 2004. "The impact of illegal insider trading in dealer and specialist markets: evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 461-488, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sarah Ann Wheeler, 2022. "Debunking Murray‐Darling Basin water trade myths," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(4), pages 797-821, October.
    2. Seidl, Constantin & Wheeler, Sarah Ann & Zuo, Alec, 2020. "High turbidity: Water valuation and accounting in the Murray-Darling Basin," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    3. Ellen M. Bruno & Richard J. Sexton, 2020. "The Gains from Agricultural Groundwater Trade and the Potential for Market Power: Theory and Application," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(3), pages 884-910, May.
    4. Juliane Haensch & Sarah Ann Wheeler & Alec Zuo, 2021. "Explaining permanent and temporary water market trade patterns within local areas in the southern Murray–Darling Basin," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 65(2), pages 318-348, April.
    5. Adam Loch & Christopher Auricht & David Adamson & Luis Mateo, 2021. "Markets, mis‐direction and motives: A factual analysis of hoarding and speculation in southern Murray–Darling Basin water markets," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 65(2), pages 291-317, April.
    6. Sheng, Jichuan & Cheng, Qian & Yang, Hongqiang, 2024. "Water markets and water inequality: China's water rights trading pilot," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sarah Ann Wheeler, 2022. "Debunking Murray‐Darling Basin water trade myths," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(4), pages 797-821, October.
    2. Zuo, Alec & Qiu, Feng & Wheeler, Sarah Ann, 2019. "Examining volatility dynamics, spillovers and government water recovery in Murray-Darling Basin water markets," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    3. Arturo Bris, 2005. "Do Insider Trading Laws Work?," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 11(3), pages 267-312, June.
    4. Loch, Adam, 2013. "Sequential decision-making: Theory and evidence for irrigator water allocation trade participation and volumetric choices," 2013 Conference (57th), February 5-8, 2013, Sydney, Australia 152199, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    5. Claire Settre & Jeff Connor & Sarah Ann Wheeler, 2017. "Reviewing the Treatment of Uncertainty in Hydro-economic Modeling of the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 3(03), pages 1-35, July.
    6. Luke M. Bennett & Wei Hu, 2023. "Filtration enlargement‐based time series forecast in view of insider trading," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1), pages 112-140, February.
    7. Adam Loch & Christopher Auricht & David Adamson & Luis Mateo, 2021. "Markets, mis‐direction and motives: A factual analysis of hoarding and speculation in southern Murray–Darling Basin water markets," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 65(2), pages 291-317, April.
    8. Michael R. King, 2009. "Prebid Run‐Ups Ahead of Canadian Takeovers: How Big Is the Problem?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 38(4), pages 699-726, December.
    9. de Bonviller, Simon & Wheeler, Sarah Ann & Zuo, Alec, 2020. "The dynamics of groundwater markets: Price leadership and groundwater demand elasticity in the Murrumbidgee, Australia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    10. Ancev, Tiho, 2015. "The role of the commonwealth environmental water holder in annual water allocation markets," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 59(1), January.
    11. James J. Angel & Douglas M. McCabe, 2018. "Insider Trading 2.0? The Ethics of Information Sales," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(4), pages 747-760, February.
    12. Pierce, Andrew T., 2024. "Capital-market effects of tipper-tippee insider trading law: Evidence from the Newman ruling," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(2).
    13. Cline, Brandon N. & Posylnaya, Valeriya V., 2019. "Illegal insider trading: Commission and SEC detection," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 247-269.
    14. Agrawal, Anup & Nasser, Tareque, 2012. "Insider trading in takeover targets," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 598-625.
    15. Juliane Haensch & Sarah Ann Wheeler & Alec Zuo & Henning Bjornlund, 2016. "The Impact of Water and Soil Salinity on Water Market Trading in the Southern Murray–Darling Basin," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 2(01), pages 1-26, March.
    16. Jeff Madura & Marek Marciniak, 2014. "Characteristics of takeover targets that trigger insider trading investigations," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(1), pages 1-18, January.
    17. Brooks, Robert & Harris, Edwyna, 2014. "Price leadership and information transmission in Australian water allocation markets," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 83-91.
    18. Fabio C. Bagliano & Carlo A. Favero & Giovanna Nicodano, 2011. "Insider Trading, Traded Volume and Returns," Working papers 26, Former Department of Economics and Public Finance "G. Prato", University of Torino.
    19. Styliani Panetsidou & Angelos Synapis & Ioannis Tsalavoutas, 2022. "Price run-ups and insider trading laws under different regulatory environments," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 601-639, August.
    20. Inga Chira & Jeff Madura, 2013. "Impact Of The Galleon Case On Informed Trading Before Merger Announcements," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 36(3), pages 325-346, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Resource /Energy Economics and Policy;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:aareaj:333771. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaresea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.