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The Highest Price Ever: The Great NYSE Seat Sale of 1928-1929 and Capacity Constraints

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  • Lance E. Davis
  • Larry Neal
  • Eugene N. White

Abstract

A surge in orders during the stock market boom of the late 1920s collided against the constraint created by the fixed number of brokers on the New York Stock Exchange. Estimates of the determinants of individual stock bid-ask spreads from panel data reveal that spreads jumped when volume spiked, confirming contemporary observers complaints that there were insufficient counterparties. When the position of the NYSE as the dominant exchange became threatened, the management of the exchange proposed a 25 percent increase in the number of seats in February 1929 by issuing a quarter-seat dividend to all members. While such a "stock split" would be expected to leave the aggregate value of the NYSE unchanged, an event study reveals that its value rose in anticipation of increased efficiency. These expectations were justified as bid-ask spreads became less sensitive to peak volume days after the increase in seats.

Suggested Citation

  • Lance E. Davis & Larry Neal & Eugene N. White, 2005. "The Highest Price Ever: The Great NYSE Seat Sale of 1928-1929 and Capacity Constraints," NBER Working Papers 11556, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11556
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    Cited by:

    1. Bruno Biais & Richard Green, 2019. "The Microstructure of the Bond Market in the 20th Century," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 33, pages 250-271, July.
    2. Neal, Larry & White, Eugene N., 2012. "The Glass–Steagall Act in historical perspective," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 104-113.
    3. Pierre-Cyrille Hautcoeur & Amir Rezaee & Angelo Riva, 2023. "Competition between securities markets: stock exchange industry regulation in the Paris financial center at the turn of the twentieth century," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 17(2), pages 261-299, May.
    4. Alexandru Preda, 2012. "The Social Closure of the Stock Exchange," Chapters, in: Geoffrey Poitras (ed.), Handbook of Research on Stock Market Globalization, chapter 6, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Moser, Petra, 2012. "Taste-based discrimination evidence from a shift in ethnic preferences after WWI," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 167-188.
    6. White, Eugene N., 2013. "Competition among the exchanges before the SEC: was the NYSE a natural hegemon?," Financial History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 29-48, April.
    7. Jose A. Scheinkman, 2013. "Speculation, Trading and Bubbles Third Annual Arrow Lecture," Working Papers 1458, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Econometric Research Program..
    8. Pierre-Cyrille Hautcoeur & Amir Rezaee & Angelo Riva, 2018. "Competition among Securities Markets," Working Papers halshs-01863942, HAL.
    9. Bernard Mcsherry & Berry K. Wilson & James J. Mcandrews, 2017. "Net Settlement and Counterparty Risk: Evidence from the Formation of the New York Stock Exchange Clearing House in 1892," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(6), pages 1273-1298, September.

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    JEL classification:

    • N2 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions
    • G2 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services

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