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Stocks for the Long Run: New Monthly Indices of British Equities, 1869-1929

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  • Richard S.Grossman

    (Department of Economics, Wesleyan University)

Abstract

This paper presents new monthly capital gain, dividend yield, and total return indices for common equities quoted on British exchanges during 1869-1929. I construct indices for 25 domestic sectors, calculate capital asset pricing model betas for each sector, and construct a 30-stock blue chip index. I splice the new broad market index to Turner et al.’s (2009) pre-1870 index to create a century-long (1825-1929) monthly equity index. I use the new indices to examine the timing of British business cycles and compare the returns on home and foreign UK investment during 1870-1929.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard S.Grossman, 2017. "Stocks for the Long Run: New Monthly Indices of British Equities, 1869-1929," Wesleyan Economics Working Papers 2017-004, Wesleyan University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:wes:weswpa:2017-004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Òscar Jordà & Katharina Knoll & Dmitry Kuvshinov & Moritz Schularick & Alan M Taylor, 2019. "The Rate of Return on Everything, 1870–2015," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(3), pages 1225-1298.
    2. Grossman, Richard & Campbell, Gareth & Turner, John, 2019. "Before the Cult of Equity: New Monthly Indices of the British Share Market, 1829-1929," CEPR Discussion Papers 13717, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Coyle, Christopher & Musacchio, Aldo & Turner, John D., 2019. "Law and Finance in Britain c.1900," QBS Working Paper Series 2019/11, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's Business School.
    4. Richard S.Grossman, 2017. "Beresford’s Revenge: British equity holdings in Latin America, 1869-1929," Wesleyan Economics Working Papers 2017-003, Wesleyan University, Department of Economics.
    5. Coyle, Christopher & Musacchio, Aldo & Turner, John D., 2019. "Law and finance in Britain c.1900," Financial History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(3), pages 267-293, December.
    6. Hauner, Thomas & Milanovic, Branko & Naidu, Suresh, 2017. "Inequality, Foreign Investment, and Imperialism," MPRA Paper 83068, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Grossman, Richard, 2017. "Beresford’s Revenge: British equity holdings in Latin America, 1869-1929," CEPR Discussion Papers 12042, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    8. Richard S. Grossman, 2018. "Revising ‘Bloody foreigners!’," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 71(4), pages 1357-1359, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    London Stock Exchange; economic history; business cycles; stock market indices;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N23 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N24 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - Europe: 1913-
    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets

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