IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ememar/v43y2020ics1566014119304352.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Insider trading laws and price informativeness in emerging stock markets: The South African case

Author

Listed:
  • Ojah, Kalu
  • Muhanji, Stella
  • Kodongo, Odongo

Abstract

We test the view that insider trading deters informativeness and, thereby, provide empirical evidence on the ramifications of insider trading legislation, particularly in an emerging market, that has hitherto received no research attention. Using the difference-in-differences identification strategy, we find that “effective insider trading law” improves stock price informativeness, a reflection of market efficiency, and that this efficiency is robust to both economic factors that affect market efficiency and the choice of control. Importantly, our results support the hypothesis that prohibition of insider trading elicits efficiency enhancement, particularly in emerging markets which are often characterized by weaker requisite institutional infrastructure than developed markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Ojah, Kalu & Muhanji, Stella & Kodongo, Odongo, 2020. "Insider trading laws and price informativeness in emerging stock markets: The South African case," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ememar:v:43:y:2020:i:c:s1566014119304352
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ememar.2020.100690
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1566014119304352
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ememar.2020.100690?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Edward L. Glaeser & Andrei Shleifer, 2001. "A Reason for Quantity Regulation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(2), pages 431-435, May.
    2. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2006. "What Works in Securities Laws?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(1), pages 1-32, February.
    3. Utpal Bhattacharya & Hazem Daouk, 2002. "The World Price of Insider Trading," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 75-108, February.
    4. Edward L. Glaeser & Andrei Shleifer, 2003. "The Rise of the Regulatory State," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 41(2), pages 401-425, June.
    5. Gary S. Becker, 1974. "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach," NBER Chapters, in: Essays in the Economics of Crime and Punishment, pages 1-54, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Ikenberry, David & Lakonishok, Josef & Vermaelen, Theo, 1995. "Market underreaction to open market share repurchases," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(2-3), pages 181-208.
    7. Benston, George J., 1985. "The market for public accounting services: Demand, supply and regulation," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 33-79.
    8. Seyhun, H. Nejat, 1986. "Insiders' profits, costs of trading, and market efficiency," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 189-212, June.
    9. Jaffe, Jeffrey F, 1974. "Special Information and Insider Trading," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 47(3), pages 410-428, July.
    10. Loughran, Tim, 1997. "Book-to-Market across Firm Size, Exchange, and Seasonality: Is There an Effect?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 32(3), pages 249-268, September.
    11. Jin, Li & Myers, Stewart C., 2006. "R2 around the world: New theory and new tests," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(2), pages 257-292, February.
    12. Grossman, Sanford J, 1981. "The Informational Role of Warranties and Private Disclosure about Product Quality," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(3), pages 461-483, December.
    13. Kaufmann, Daniel & Kraay, Aart & Mastruzzi, Massimo, 2007. "Governance Matters VI: Aggregate and Individual Governance Indicators, 1996-2006," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4280, The World Bank.
    14. Bart Frijns & Aaron Gilbert & Alireza Tourani-Rad, 2013. "Do Criminal Sanctions Deter Insider Trading?," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 48(2), pages 205-232, May.
    15. Hay, Jonathan R & Shleifer, Andrei, 1998. "Private Enforcement of Public Laws: A Theory of Legal Reform," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 398-403, May.
    16. Cheuk, Man-Yin & Fan, Dennis K. & So, Raymond W., 2006. "Insider trading in Hong Kong: Some stylized facts," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 73-90, January.
    17. Ahlin, Christian & Pang, Jiaren, 2008. "Are financial development and corruption control substitutes in promoting growth?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 414-433, June.
    18. Meulbroek, Lisa K, 1992. "An Empirical Analysis of Illegal Insider Trading," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(5), pages 1661-1699, December.
    19. Levine, Ross, 2002. "Bank-Based or Market-Based Financial Systems: Which Is Better?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 398-428, October.
    20. Susan Athey & Guido W. Imbens, 2006. "Identification and Inference in Nonlinear Difference-in-Differences Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 74(2), pages 431-497, March.
    21. Qi Chen & Itay Goldstein & Wei Jiang, 2007. "Price Informativeness and Investment Sensitivity to Stock Price," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 20(3), pages 619-650.
    22. Arturo Bris, 2005. "Do Insider Trading Laws Work?," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 11(3), pages 267-312, June.
    23. Rozeff, Michael S & Zaman, Mir A, 1988. "Market Efficiency and Insider Trading: New Evidence," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 61(1), pages 25-44, January.
    24. Paul Milgrom & John Roberts, 1986. "Relying on the Information of Interested Parties," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 17(1), pages 18-32, Spring.
    25. Nuno Fernandes & Miguel A. Ferreira, 2009. "Insider Trading Laws and Stock Price Informativeness," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(5), pages 1845-1887, May.
    26. Kalu Ojah & Tendai Gwatidzo & Sheshangai Kaniki, 2010. "Legal Environment, Finance Channels and Investment: The East African Example," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(4), pages 724-744.
    27. Guido W. Imbens & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2009. "Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 5-86, March.
    28. Finnerty, Joseph E, 1976. "Insiders and Market Efficiency," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 31(4), pages 1141-1148, September.
    29. Meyer, Bruce D, 1995. "Natural and Quasi-experiments in Economics," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 13(2), pages 151-161, April.
    30. Lakonishok, Josef & Lee, Inmoo, 2001. "Are Insider Trades Informative?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 14(1), pages 79-111.
    31. Arturo Bris, 2000. "Do Insider Trading Laws Work?," Yale School of Management Working Papers ysm162, Yale School of Management, revised 01 Jun 2005.
    32. Bhattacharya, Utpal & Daouk, Hazem & Jorgenson, Brian & Kehr, Carl-Heinrich, 2000. "When an event is not an event: the curious case of an emerging market," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(1), pages 69-101, January.
    33. H. Nejat Seyhun, 1992. "Why Does Aggregate Insider Trading Predict Future Stock Returns?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(4), pages 1303-1331.
    34. Ross Levine & Chen Lin & Lai Wei, 2017. "Insider Trading and Innovation," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 60(4), pages 749-800.
    35. Daouk, Hazem & Lee, Charles M.C. & Ng, David, 2006. "Capital market governance: How do security laws affect market performance?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 560-593, June.
    36. Loughran, Tim & Ritter, Jay R, 1995. "The New Issues Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(1), pages 23-51, March.
    37. Chung, Kee H & Charoenwong, Charlie, 1998. "Insider Trading and the Bid-Ask Spread," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 33(3), pages 1-20, August.
    38. Etebari, Ahmad & Tourani-Rad, Alireza & Gilbert, Aaron, 2004. "Disclosure regulation and the profitability of insider trading: Evidence from New Zealand," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 12(5), pages 479-502, November.
    39. Artyom Durnev & Randall Morck & Bernard Yeung & Paul Zarowin, 2003. "Does Greater Firm‐Specific Return Variation Mean More or Less Informed Stock Pricing?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(5), pages 797-836, December.
    40. French, Kenneth R. & Roll, Richard, 1986. "Stock return variances : The arrival of information and the reaction of traders," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 5-26, September.
    41. 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.
    42. Chen, Zhihong & Huang, Yuan & Kusnadi, Yuanto & John Wei, K.C., 2017. "The real effect of the initial enforcement of insider trading laws," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 687-709.
    43. Lee, Inmoo & Loughran, Tim, 1998. "Performance following convertible bond issuance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 185-207, June.
    44. Kalu Ojah & Stella Muhanji & Andrew Myburg, 2008. "Market Reaction and Equity Market Efficiency: A Survey of the Insider Trading Law in South Africa," The African Finance Journal, Africagrowth Institute, vol. 10(2), pages 1-28.
    45. Slaughter, Matthew J., 2001. "Trade liberalization and per capita income convergence: a difference-in-differences analysis," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(1), pages 203-228, October.
    46. Ritter, Jay R, 1991. "The Long-run Performance of Initial Public Offerings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 3-27, March.
    47. Thorsten Beck & Asli Demirgüç-Kunt & Ross Levine, 2000. "A New Database on the Structure and Development of the Financial Sector," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 14(3), pages 597-605, September.
    48. Wisniewski, Tomasz P. & Bohl, Martin T., 2005. "The Information Content of Registered Insider Trading Under Lax Law Enforcement," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 169-185, June.
    49. Michael J. Fishman & Kathleen M. Hagerty, 1992. "Insider Trading and the Efficiency of Stock Prices," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 23(1), pages 106-122, Spring.
    50. Michael Manove, 1989. "The Harm from Insider Trading and Informed Speculation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 104(4), pages 823-845.
    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. Mazza, Paolo & Wang, Shiyu, 2021. "Corporate legal insider trading in China: Performance and determinants," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    2. Mai, Nhat Chi, 2020. "Essays on the Vietnam Stock Market," OSF Preprints 3uaqt, Center for Open Science.
    3. Mazza, Paolo & Ruh, Benjamin, 2022. "The performance of corporate legal insider trading in the Korean market," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    4. Chen, Rong & Geng, Heng (Griffin) & Lin, Hai & Nguyen, Phuong Thi Ly, 2021. "Liquidity, informed trading, and a market surveillance system: Evidence from the Vietnamese stock market," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 67(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. 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.
    2. Ian Tonks, 2010. "Discussion of To Trade or Not To Trade: The Strategic Trading of Insiders around News Announcements," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(3‐4), pages 408-421, April.
    3. Ryu, Doojin & Yang, Heejin & Yu, Jinyoung, 2022. "Insider trading and information asymmetry: Evidence from the Korea Exchange," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(PA).
    4. Juha-Pekka Kallunki & Henrik Nilsson & Janne Peltoniemi, 2009. "Regulated and unregulated insider trading around earnings announcements," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 285-308, June.
    5. Brenner, Steffen, 2011. "On the irrelevance of insider trading for managerial compensation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 293-303, February.
    6. Chirkova, Elena (Чиркова, Елена) & Petrov, Vladislav (Петров, Владислав), 2015. "The Diagnosis of the Insider Trading During the Conflict of Shareholders of “VimpelCom” in 2005-2013 [Диагностирование Инсайдерской Торговли В Период Конфликта Акционеров Оао «Вымпелком» В 2005—201," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 2, pages 151-173.
    7. Rebecca Pham & Marcel Ausloos, 2022. "Insider trading in the run‐up to merger announcements. Before and after the UK's Financial Services Act 2012," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(3), pages 3373-3385, July.
    8. Aktas, Nihat & de Bodt, Eric & Van Oppens, Hervé, 2008. "Legal insider trading and market efficiency," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(7), pages 1379-1392, July.
    9. Wielhouwer, Jacco L., 2013. "When is public enforcement of insider trading regulations effective?," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 52-60.
    10. 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.
    11. Tong, Wilson H.S. & Zhang, Shaojun & Zhu, Yanjian, 2013. "Trading on inside information: Evidence from the share-structure reform in China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 1422-1436.
    12. Josef Lakonishok & Inmoo Lee, 1998. "Are Insiders' Trades Informative?," NBER Working Papers 6656, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Laurel Franzen & Xu Li & Oktay Urcan & Mark E. Vargus, 2014. "The Market Response To Insider Sales Of Restricted Stock Versus Unrestricted Stock," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 37(1), pages 99-118, February.
    14. Millicent Chang & Xiaolin Qian & Jing Yu & Yvonne See, 2017. "Does director trading change the information environment?," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 42(2), pages 205-229, May.
    15. 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).
    16. Fidrmuc, Jana P. & Korczak, Adriana & Korczak, Piotr, 2013. "Why does shareholder protection matter for abnormal returns after reported insider purchases and sales?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 1915-1935.
    17. Etebari, Ahmad & Tourani-Rad, Alireza & Gilbert, Aaron, 2004. "Disclosure regulation and the profitability of insider trading: Evidence from New Zealand," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 12(5), pages 479-502, November.
    18. Palan, Stefan & Stöckl, Thomas, 2017. "When chasing the offender hurts the victim: The case of insider legislation," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 104-129.
    19. Paulo Pereira Silva & Isabel Vieira, 2022. "On the Effects of Capital Markets’ Regulation on Price Informativeness: an Assessment of EU Market Abuse Directive," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 36(2), pages 125-157, June.
    20. Laura Nyantung Beny, 2005. "Do Insider Trading Laws Matter? Some Preliminary Comparative Evidence," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp741, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Capital market governance; Insider trading; Stock price informativeness; Market efficiency; Emerging markets; Difference-in-differences; South Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

    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:eee:ememar:v:43:y:2020:i:c:s1566014119304352. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620356 .

    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.