IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/empfin/v25y2014icp83-94.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Firm opacity and financial market information asymmetry

Author

Listed:
  • Ravi, Rahul
  • Hong, Youna

Abstract

Information asymmetry could exist between the firm and the investors as well as among investors. If the information asymmetry between the firm and the investors is very high, all investors are largely uninformed, so information asymmetry between investors should be low. At the other extreme, if all investors are fully informed about the firm, again the information asymmetry between investors should be low. This paper finds evidence supporting such a nonlinear relationship between firm-to-investor and investor-to-investor information asymmetry. The inter-investor information asymmetry increases, and then declines, as the information asymmetry between the firm and the investor increases.

Suggested Citation

  • Ravi, Rahul & Hong, Youna, 2014. "Firm opacity and financial market information asymmetry," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 83-94.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:empfin:v:25:y:2014:i:c:p:83-94
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jempfin.2013.11.007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927539813000959
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jempfin.2013.11.007?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. O'brien, Patricia C., 1988. "Analysts' forecasts as earnings expectations," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 53-83, January.
    2. Atiase, Rk, 1985. "Predisclosure Information, Firm Capitalization, And Security Price Behavior Around Earnings Announcements," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 21-36.
    3. Harrison Hong & Terence Lim & Jeremy C. Stein, 2000. "Bad News Travels Slowly: Size, Analyst Coverage, and the Profitability of Momentum Strategies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 265-295, February.
    4. Hasbrouck, Joel, 1991. "Measuring the Information Content of Stock Trades," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 179-207, March.
    5. A. Colin Cameron & Jonah B. Gelbach & Douglas L. Miller, 2008. "Bootstrap-Based Improvements for Inference with Clustered Errors," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(3), pages 414-427, August.
    6. Glosten, Lawrence R. & Harris, Lawrence E., 1988. "Estimating the components of the bid/ask spread," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 123-142, May.
    7. Joon Chae, 2005. "Trading Volume, Information Asymmetry, and Timing Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(1), pages 413-442, February.
    8. Lee, Charles M C & Mucklow, Belinda & Ready, Mark J, 1993. "Spreads, Depths, and the Impact of Earnings Information: An Intraday Analysis," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 6(2), pages 345-374.
    9. Lobo, Gj & Mahmoud, Aaw, 1989. "Relationship Between Differential Amounts Of Prior Information And Security Return Variability," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 116-134.
    10. Boot, Arnoud W A & Thakor, Anjan V, 1993. "Security Design," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 48(4), pages 1349-1378, September.
    11. Russell Lundholm & Linda A. Myers, 2002. "Bringing the Future Forward: The Effect of Disclosure on the Returns‐Earnings Relation," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(3), pages 809-839, June.
    12. Bessembinder, Hendrik, 2003. "Issues in assessing trade execution costs," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 233-257, May.
    13. Guillermo Llorente & Roni Michaely & Gideon Saar & Jiang Wang, 2002. "Dynamic Volume-Return Relation of Individual Stocks," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 15(4), pages 1005-1047.
    14. Brous, Peter Alan, 1992. "Common Stock Offerings and Earnings Expectations: A Test of the Release of Unfavorable Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1517-1536, September.
    15. Diamond, Douglas W & Verrecchia, Robert E, 1991. "Disclosure, Liquidity, and the Cost of Capital," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(4), pages 1325-1359, September.
    16. Frank L. Heflin & Kenneth W. Shaw & John J. Wild, 2005. "Disclosure Policy and Market Liquidity: Impact of Depth Quotes and Order Sizes," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(4), pages 829-865, December.
    17. Ke, Bin & Ramalingegowda, Santhosh, 2005. "Do institutional investors exploit the post-earnings announcement drift?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 25-53, February.
    18. Paul M. Healy & Amy P. Hutton & Krishna G. Palepu, 1999. "Stock Performance and Intermediation Changes Surrounding Sustained Increases in Disclosure," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(3), pages 485-520, September.
    19. Vermaelen, Theo, 1981. "Common stock repurchases and market signalling : An empirical study," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 139-183, June.
    20. Stephen A. Ross, 1977. "The Determination of Financial Structure: The Incentive-Signalling Approach," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 8(1), pages 23-40, Spring.
    21. Lee, Charles M. C., 1992. "Earnings news and small traders : An intraday analysis," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2-3), pages 265-302, August.
    22. Bushee, BJ & Noe, CF, 2000. "Corporate disclosure practices, institutional investors, and stock return volatility," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38, pages 171-202.
    23. Brennan, Michael J. & Subrahmanyam, Avanidhar, 1995. "Investment analysis and price formation in securities markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 361-381, July.
    24. Diamond, Douglas W, 1985. "Optimal Release of Information by Firms," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 40(4), pages 1071-1094, September.
    25. Desai, Chintal A. & Savickas, Robert, 2010. "On the causes of volatility effects of conglomerate breakups," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 554-571, September.
    26. Nilabhra Bhattacharya & Hemang Desai & Kumar Venkataraman, 2013. "Does Earnings Quality Affect Information Asymmetry? Evidence from Trading Costs," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 482-516, June.
    27. Christine A. Botosan & Marlene A. Plumlee, 2002. "A Re‐examination of Disclosure Level and the Expected Cost of Equity Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1), pages 21-40, March.
    28. Fried, Dov & Givoly, Dan, 1982. "Financial analysts' forecasts of earnings : A better surrogate for market expectations," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 85-107, October.
    29. Gaver, Jennifer J. & Gaver, Kenneth M., 1993. "Additional evidence on the association between the investment opportunity set and corporate financing, dividend, and compensation policies," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1-3), pages 125-160, April.
    30. Pound, John, 1988. "The information effects of takeover bids and resistance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 207-227, December.
    31. Verrecchia, Robert E., 1983. "Discretionary disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 179-194, April.
    32. Lundholm, Rj, 1991. "Public Signals And The Equilibrium Allocation Of Private Information," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 322-349.
    33. Huson, Mark R. & MacKinnon, Gregory, 2003. "Corporate spinoffs and information asymmetry between investors," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 481-503, September.
    34. Lee, Charles M. C. & Radhakrishna, Balkrishna, 2000. "Inferring investor behavior: Evidence from TORQ data," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 83-111, May.
    35. Odders-White, Elizabeth R., 2000. "On the occurrence and consequences of inaccurate trade classification," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 259-286, August.
    36. Neal, Robert & Wheatley, Simon M., 1998. "Adverse selection and bid-ask spreads: Evidence from closed-end funds," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 121-149, April.
    37. Best, Ronald & Zhang, Hang, 1993. "Alternative Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 48(4), pages 1507-1522, September.
    38. Christie, Andrew A., 1987. "On cross-sectional analysis in accounting research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 231-258, December.
    39. Kothari, S.P. & Leone, Andrew J. & Wasley, Charles E., 2005. "Performance matched discretionary accrual measures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 163-197, February.
    40. Lee, Charles M C & Ready, Mark J, 1991. "Inferring Trade Direction from Intraday Data," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(2), pages 733-746, June.
    41. Healy, Paul M. & Palepu, Krishna G., 2001. "Information asymmetry, corporate disclosure, and the capital markets: A review of the empirical disclosure literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-3), pages 405-440, September.
    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. Jared F. Egginton & Garrett A. McBrayer & William R. McCumber, 2022. "Executive networks and global stock liquidity," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 45(4), pages 911-939, December.
    2. Jared F. Egginton & Garrett A. McBrayer, 2019. "Does it pay to be forthcoming? Evidence from CSR disclosure and equity market liquidity," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(2), pages 396-407, March.
    3. Pham, Mia Hang, 2020. "In law we trust: Lawyer CEOs and stock liquidity," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    4. Liyun Zhou & Weinan Lin & Chunpeng Yang, 2024. "Investor trading behavior and asset prices: Evidence from quantile regression analysis," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 1722-1744, April.
    5. Ahmad, Muhammad Munir & Hunjra, Ahmed Imran & Taskin, Dilvin, 2023. "Do asymmetric information and leverage affect investment decisions?," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 337-345.
    6. Li, Leon & Miu, Peter, 2023. "Are cryptocurrencies a safe haven for stock investors? A regime-switching approach," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 367-385.
    7. Hongyu Li & Zhiqiang Lu & Qili Yin, 2023. "The Development of Fintech and SME Innovation: Empirical Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-14, January.
    8. Lu, Zhiqiang & Li, Hongyu, 2023. "Does environmental information disclosure affect green innovation?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 47-59.
    9. You, Linqing & Chen, Zhuoqiong, 2022. "A theory of firm opacity and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 145(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. Jagjeev Dosanjh, 2017. "Exchange Initiatives and Market Efficiency: Evidence from the Australian Securities Exchange," PhD Thesis, Finance Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney, number 1-2017, January-A.
    2. repec:uts:finphd:34 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Barakat, Ahmed & Chernobai, Anna & Wahrenburg, Mark, 2014. "Information asymmetry around operational risk announcements," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 152-179.
    4. Leonardo Fernandez, 2012. "Price Discovery, Investor Distraction and Analyst Recommendations Under Continuous Disclosure Requirements in Australia," PhD Thesis, Finance Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney, number 1-2012, January-A.
    5. Jianguo Chen & David Smith, 2024. "Disclosure policy choice, stock returns and information asymmetry: Evidence from capital expenditure announcements," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 49(2), pages 192-213, May.
    6. Heitzman, Shane & Wasley, Charles & Zimmerman, Jerold, 2010. "The joint effects of materiality thresholds and voluntary disclosure incentives on firms' disclosure decisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1-2), pages 109-132, February.
    7. Shai Levi & Xiao-Jun Zhang, 2015. "Do Temporary Increases in Information Asymmetry Affect the Cost of Equity?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(2), pages 354-371, February.
    8. Blankespoor, Elizabeth & deHaan, Ed & Marinovic, Iván, 2020. "Disclosure processing costs, investors’ information choice, and equity market outcomes: A review," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(2).
    9. Karthik Balakrishnan & Mary Brooke Billings & Bryan Kelly & Alexander Ljungqvist, 2014. "Shaping Liquidity: On the Causal Effects of Voluntary Disclosure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(5), pages 2237-2278, October.
    10. Leonardo Fernandez, 2012. "Price Discovery, Investor Distraction and Analyst Recommendations Under Continuous Disclosure Requirements in Australia," PhD Thesis, Finance Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney, number 3, July-Dece.
    11. Vera Lucia M. Cunha & M. Dinis Mendes, 2017. "Financial Determinants of Corporate Governance Disclosure: Portuguese Evidence," Athens Journal of Business & Economics, Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER), vol. 3(1), pages 21-36, January.
    12. Lof, Matthijs & van Bommel, Jos, 2023. "Asymmetric information and the distribution of trading volume," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    13. Gary McCormick & Dan W. French, 2016. "Effects of frequent information disclosure: the case of daily net asset value reporting for closed-end investment companies," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 107-122, January.
    14. Chiraphol N. Chiyachantana & Christine X. Jiang & Nareerat Taechapiroontong & Robert A. Wood, 2004. "The Impact of Regulation Fair Disclosure on Information Asymmetry and Trading: An Intraday Analysis," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 39(4), pages 549-577, November.
    15. Zhang, Sijia & Gregoriou, Andros & Wu, He, 2024. "Asymmetric post earnings announcement drift and order flow imbalance: The impact on stock market returns," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    16. Flannery, Mark J. & Kwan, Simon H. & Nimalendran, M., 2004. "Market evidence on the opaqueness of banking firms' assets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 419-460, March.
    17. Fu, Renhui & Kraft, Arthur & Zhang, Huai, 2012. "Financial reporting frequency, information asymmetry, and the cost of equity," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 132-149.
    18. Stephan Hollander & Maarten Pronk & Erik Roelofsen, 2010. "Does Silence Speak? An Empirical Analysis of Disclosure Choices During Conference Calls," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3), pages 531-563, June.
    19. Beyer, Anne & Cohen, Daniel A. & Lys, Thomas Z. & Walther, Beverly R., 2010. "The financial reporting environment: Review of the recent literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 296-343, December.
    20. Dayanandan, Ajit & Donker, Han & Karahan, Gökhan, 2017. "Do voluntary disclosures of bad news improve liquidity?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 16-29.
    21. Bardong, Florian & Bartram, Söhnke M. & Yadav, Pradeep K., 2005. "Informed Trading, Information Asymmetry and Pricing of Information Risk: Empirical Evidence from the NYSE," MPRA Paper 13586, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Oct 2008.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Information asymmetry; Firm opacity; Disclosure quality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • G19 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Other
    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General

    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:empfin:v:25:y:2014:i:c:p:83-94. 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/jempfin .

    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.