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Private Information, Human Capital, and Optimal "Home Bias" in Financial Markets

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  • Isaac Ehrlich
  • Jong Kook Shin
  • Yong Yin

Abstract

By allowing for imperfectly informed markets and the role of private information, we offer new insights about observed deviations of portfolio concentrations in domestic relative to foreign risky assets, or "home bias", from what standard finance models predict. Our model ascribes the "bias" to endogenous information acquisition bolstered by investors' human capital. We develop discriminating hypotheses about the influence of "specific" and "general" human capital endowments and direct and opportunity costs of managing risky assets in determining whether to hold these assets, and how the assets' portfolio shares vary across investors and financial markets. These hypotheses are supported by numerical and econometric analyses of panel data from the US over 1992-2007, and 23 international financial markets over 2001-2007. The results indicate the existence of differences across countries in the degree to which home asset prices are "information-revealing", which may be relevant for fully understanding the global financial crisis of 2007-09.

Suggested Citation

  • Isaac Ehrlich & Jong Kook Shin & Yong Yin, 2010. "Private Information, Human Capital, and Optimal "Home Bias" in Financial Markets," NBER Working Papers 15668, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:15668
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Eva M. Berger & Luke Haywood, 2016. "Locus of Control and Mothers’ Return to Employment," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 10(4), pages 442-481.
    2. Stephen J. Turnovsky & Aditi Mitra, 2013. "The Interaction between Human and Physical Capital Accumulation and the Growth-Inequality Trade-off," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 7(1), pages 26-75.
    3. Martin McGuigan & Sandra McNally & Gill Wyness, 2016. "Student Awareness of Costs and Benefits of Educational Decisions: Effects of an Information Campaign," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 10(4), pages 482-519.
    4. Isaac Ehrlich & Jong Kook Shin, 2010. "The Role of Human Capital in Imperfectly Informed International Financial Markets," Working Papers 092010, Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • F30 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - General
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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