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Immigration and equity home bias

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  • Foad, Hisham

Abstract

Why do investors hold such large positions in domestic equity when there are gains to be made from international diversification? This equity home bias puzzle has received considerable attention in the literature, with asymmetric information on domestic and foreign assets (whether by individual choice or by market imperfection) emerging as the most plausible explanation. What happens when we consider a subset of investors whose information sets are closer to investors in foreign countries? I assess the relationship between immigration and equity home bias and find that inward migration is positively correlated with increased foreign equity positions and reduced home bias. Looking across income groups, outward migration reduces home bias for relatively rich countries, but may actually increase home bias when migration occurs to or from a developing country. These results suggest that immigration generates a positive externality of increased information flows for developed countries, but not for developing nations. The effects of immigration on investment are strongest within the Euro-Zone, suggesting that this positive externality of immigration is largest when barriers to portfolio diversification (such as currency risk) are lowest.

Suggested Citation

  • Foad, Hisham, 2011. "Immigration and equity home bias," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 982-998, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jimfin:v:30:y:2011:i:6:p:982-998
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nathan, Max, 2013. "The Wider Economic Impacts of High-Skilled Migrants: A Survey of the Literature," IZA Discussion Papers 7653, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Migliavacca, Milena & Goodell, John W. & Paltrinieri, Andrea, 2023. "A bibliometric review of portfolio diversification literature," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. Max Nathan, 2014. "The wider economic impacts of high-skilled migrants: a survey of the literature for receiving countries," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-20, December.
    4. Martijn Boermans & Ian Cooper & Piet Sercu & Rosanne Vanpée, 2022. "Foreign bias in equity portfolios: Informational advantage or familiarity bias?," Working Papers 742, DNB.
    5. Dr Max Nathan, 2013. "The wider economic impacts of high-skilled migrants: a survey of the literature," National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) Discussion Papers 413, National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
    6. Gyu Hyun Kim, 2020. "Non-fundamental Home Bias in International Equity Markets," Papers 2012.06716, arXiv.org.
    7. Balli, Faruk & Balli, Hatice O. & Jean Louis, Rosmy, 2016. "The impacts of immigrants and institutions on bilateral tourism flows," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 221-229.
    8. Giofré, Maela, 2014. "Domestic investor protection and foreign portfolio investment," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 355-371.
    9. Hellmanzik, Christiane & Schmitz, Martin, 2017. "Taking gravity online: The role of virtual proximity in international finance," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 164-179.
    10. Kim, Gyu Hyun, 2021. "Three essays on international economics," ISU General Staff Papers 202101010800009534, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    11. Wen-Lin Wu & Yin-Feng Gau, 2017. "Home bias in portfolio choices: social learning among partially informed agents," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 527-556, February.
    12. Kim, Gyu Hyun & Kim, Hoffmann, 2022. "Non-fundamental home bias in international equity markets," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 213-234.

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