Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/56280 
Year of Publication: 
2004
Series/Report no.: 
SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance No. 526
Publisher: 
Stockholm School of Economics, The Economic Research Institute (EFI), Stockholm
Abstract: 
Anecdotal evidence suggests that investor protection affects the demand for equity, but existing theories emphasize only the effect of investor protection on the supply of equity. We build a model showing that the demand for equity is important in explaining financial development. If the level of investor protection is low, wealthy investors have an incentive to become controlling shareholders and pay a high price for their stocks, because they can earn additional benefits by expropriating outside shareholders. As a consequence of lower expected returns both domestic and foreign portfolio investors have a disincentive to hold stocks. The model implies that differences in stock market participation rates across countries and the pervasiveness of home equity bias depend on the degree of investor protection. Additionally, we uncover a good country bias in investment decisions as portfolio investors from countries with low level of investor protection hold relatively more foreign equity. We provide novel international evidence on stock market participation rates, and on holdings of domestic and foreign stocks consistent with the predictions of the model.
Subjects: 
Home Equity Bias
Portfolio Choice
Limited Participation
Investor Protection
Private Benefits of Control
JEL: 
F21
G11
G32
G38
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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