Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/249136 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
Discussion Papers No. 946
Publisher: 
Statistics Norway, Research Department, Oslo
Abstract: 
We study the effects of broadband internet use on the portfolio selection of individual investors. A public program in Norway provides plausibly exogenous variation in internet use. Our instrumental variables estimates show that internet use causes a substantial increase in stock market participation, driven primarily by increased fund ownership. Existing investors increase the fraction of their portfolios held in funds and do not increase their trading activity in stocks. Access to fast internet seems to induce individual investors to make better financial decisions and hence leads to a "democratization of finance".
Subjects: 
equity market participation
investor welfare
portfolio selection
stock market participation
JEL: 
D83
G11
J2
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.