IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/rqfnac/v54y2020i1d10.1007_s11156-019-00793-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Suboptimal international equity portfolio diversification and stock market development

Author

Listed:
  • Frank O. Kwabi

    (De Montfort University)

  • Chandra Thapa

    (University of Strathclyde)

  • Krishna Paudyal

    (University of Strathclyde)

  • Suman Neupane

    (The University of Queensland)

Abstract

This paper examines whether the widely reported phenomena of home and foreign biases (i.e. suboptimal international equity portfolio diversification) hold any ramifications for the development of stock markets. The results, analysed using macro- and micro-level data, support the view that stock markets that are characterised by a higher degree of home bias are associated with lower levels of development. On the other hand, markets where foreign investors show a higher degree of allocation preference, relative to the prescribed benchmark (foreign bias), are found to be more developed. The results, which are robust to the use of shock based identification strategy, indicate that policy measures that promote optimal international equity portfolio diversification could be crucial in developing the depth and breadth of domestic stock markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Frank O. Kwabi & Chandra Thapa & Krishna Paudyal & Suman Neupane, 2020. "Suboptimal international equity portfolio diversification and stock market development," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 389-412, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:rqfnac:v:54:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s11156-019-00793-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s11156-019-00793-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11156-019-00793-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11156-019-00793-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. R. Gaston Gelos & Shang‐Jin Wei, 2005. "Transparency and International Portfolio Holdings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(6), pages 2987-3020, December.
    2. Geert Bekaert & Campbell R. Harvey, 2000. "Foreign Speculators and Emerging Equity Markets," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(2), pages 565-613, April.
    3. Ephraim Clark & Konstantinos Kassimatis, 2013. "International equity flows, marginal conditional stochastic dominance and diversification," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 251-271, February.
    4. Geert Bekaert & Campbell R. Harvey & Christian Lundblad, 2007. "Liquidity and Expected Returns: Lessons from Emerging Markets," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 20(6), pages 1783-1831, November.
    5. Chotibhak Jotikasthira & Christian Lundblad & Tarun Ramadorai, 2012. "Asset Fire Sales and Purchases and the International Transmission of Funding Shocks," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(6), pages 2015-2050, December.
    6. Alvin Y. T. Wong & Gordon Y. N. Tang & Kam C. Chan, 2013. "The Determinants of Performance in Alternative Markets for Small and Medium Enterprises: International Evidence," Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies (RPBFMP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(02), pages 1-26.
    7. Bekaert, Geert & Harvey, Campbell R. & Lundblad, Christian, 2011. "Financial Openness and Productivity," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 1-19, January.
    8. Nijman, T.E. & de Roon, F.A. & Werker, B.J.M., 2001. "Testing for Mean-Variance spanning with short sales constraints and transaction costs : The case of emerging markets," Other publications TiSEM f4a3551a-d7ae-4c22-8813-b, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    9. Errunza, Vihang, 2001. "Foreign Portfolio Equity Investments, Financial Liberalization, and Economic Development," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(4), pages 703-726, November.
    10. Bekaert, Geert & Harvey, Campbell R., 2003. "Emerging markets finance," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 10(1-2), pages 3-56, February.
    11. René M. Stulz, 2007. "The Limits of Financial Globalization," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 19(1), pages 8-15, January.
    12. Claessens, Stijn & Klingebiel, Daniela & Schmukler, Sergio L., 2006. "Stock market development and internationalization: Do economic fundamentals spur both similarly?," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 316-350, June.
    13. Ahearne, Alan G. & Griever, William L. & Warnock, Francis E., 2004. "Information costs and home bias: an analysis of US holdings of foreign equities," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 313-336, March.
    14. Lau, Sie Ting & Ng, Lilian & Zhang, Bohui, 2010. "The world price of home bias," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 191-217, August.
    15. Chanwit Phengpis & Peggy Swanson, 2011. "Optimization, cointegration and diversification gains from international portfolios: an out-of-sample analysis," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 269-286, February.
    16. Wan-Jiun Paul Chiou & Vigdis W Boasson, 2015. "International Variations in the Benefits of Feasible Diversification Strategies," Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies (RPBFMP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(04), pages 1-38, December.
    17. Vihang Errunza, 2001. "Foreign Portfolio Equity Investments, Financial Liberalization, and Economic Development," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(4), pages 703-726, November.
    18. Fama, Eugene F & French, Kenneth R, 1992. "The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(2), pages 427-465, June.
    19. Edwards,Jeremy & Franks,Julian & Mayer,Colin & Schaefer,Stephen (ed.), 1986. "Recent Developments in Corporate Finance," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521329644.
    20. Fidora, Michael & Fratzscher, Marcel & Thimann, Christian, 2007. "Home bias in global bond and equity markets: The role of real exchange rate volatility," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 631-655, June.
    21. Wen-Lin Wu & Yin-Feng Gau, 2017. "Home bias in portfolio choices: social learning among partially informed agents," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 527-556, February.
    22. Marie-Hélène Broihanne & Maxime Merli & Patrick Roger, 2016. "Diversification, gambling and market forces," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 129-157, July.
    23. Geert Bekaert & Xiaozheng Wang, 2010. "Inflation risk and the inflation risk premium [Do macro variables, asset markets or surveys forecast inflation better?]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 25(64), pages 755-806.
    24. Mitchell A. Petersen, 2009. "Estimating Standard Errors in Finance Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 435-480, January.
    25. Boyd, John H. & Levine, Ross & Smith, Bruce D., 2001. "The impact of inflation on financial sector performance," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 221-248, April.
    26. René M. Stulz, 1999. "Golbalization, Corporate Finance, And The Cost Of Capital," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 12(3), pages 8-25, September.
    27. Kim, Heeho & Cho, Seong-Hoon & Kim, Yongku, 2015. "Home bias, risk differential, and cultural spatial spillover effects," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 114-136.
    28. Frans A. De Roon & Theo E. Nijman & Bas J. M. Werker, 2001. "Testing for Mean‐Variance Spanning with Short Sales Constraints and Transaction Costs: The Case of Emerging Markets," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(2), pages 721-742, April.
    29. Paul Chiou & Cheng-Few Lee, 2013. "Do investors still benefit from culturally home-biased diversification? An empirical study of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 341-381, February.
    30. Kalok Chan & Vicentiu Covrig & Lilian Ng, 2005. "What Determines the Domestic Bias and Foreign Bias? Evidence from Mutual Fund Equity Allocations Worldwide," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(3), pages 1495-1534, June.
    31. Jing-Rung Yu & Wan-Jiun Paul Chiou & Jian-Hong Yang, 2017. "Diversification benefits of risk portfolio models: a case of Taiwan’s stock market," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 467-502, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tsalavoutas, Ioannis & Tsoligkas, Fanis, 2021. "Uncertainty avoidance and stock price informativeness of future earnings," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kwabi, Frank O. & Thapa, Chandra & Paudyal, Krishna & Adegbite, Emmanuel, 2017. "Biases in international portfolio allocation and investor protection standards," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 66-79.
    2. Thapa, Chandra & Poshakwale, Sunil S., 2012. "Country-specific equity market characteristics and foreign equity portfolio allocation," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 189-211.
    3. Frank O. Kwabi & Agyenim Boateng, 2021. "The effect of insider trading laws and enforcement on stock market transaction cost," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 939-964, April.
    4. Poshakwale, Sunil S. & Thapa, Chandra, 2011. "Investor protection and international equity portfolio investments," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 116-129.
    5. Thapa, Chandra & Poshakwale, Sunil S., 2010. "International equity portfolio allocations and transaction costs," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(11), pages 2627-2638, November.
    6. Frank O. Kwabi & Agyenim Boateng & Emmanuel Adegbite, 2019. "International equity portfolio investment and enforcement of insider trading laws: a cross-country analysis," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 53(2), pages 327-349, August.
    7. Kwabi, Frank O. & Boateng, Agyenim & Du, Min, 2020. "Impact of central bank independence and transparency on international equity portfolio allocation: A cross-country analysis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    8. Lee, Junyong & Lee, Kyounghun & Oh, Frederick Dongchuhl, 2023. "International portfolio diversification and the home bias puzzle," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    9. Thapa, Chandra & Paudyal, Krishna & Neupane, Suman, 2013. "Access to information and international portfolio allocation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(7), pages 2255-2267.
    10. Thapa, Chandra & Neupane, Suman & Marshall, Andrew, 2016. "Market liquidity risks of foreign exchange derivatives and cross-country equity portfolio allocations," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 46-64.
    11. de Groot, Wilma & Pang, Juan & Swinkels, Laurens, 2012. "The cross-section of stock returns in frontier emerging markets," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 796-818.
    12. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/c8dmi8nm4pdjkuc9g70969520 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Paul Chiou & Cheng-Few Lee, 2013. "Do investors still benefit from culturally home-biased diversification? An empirical study of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 341-381, February.
    14. Bekaert, Geert & Harvey, Campbell R., 2003. "Emerging markets finance," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 10(1-2), pages 3-56, February.
    15. Tatiana Didier & Roberto Rigobon & Sergio L. Schmukler, 2013. "Unexploited Gains From International Diversification: Patterns Of Portfolio Holdings Around The World," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(5), pages 1562-1583, December.
    16. Frank Kwabi & Agyenim Boateng & Samuel Fosu & TingTing Zhu & Marian Chijoke‐Mgbame, 2022. "Foreign equity portfolio flow and corruption: A cross‐country evidence," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(1), pages 68-87, January.
    17. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/c8dmi8nm4pdjkuc9g70969520 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Coeurdacier, Nicolas & Guibaud, Stéphane, 2011. "International portfolio diversification is better than you think," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 289-308, March.
    19. Kamal A. El-Wassal, 2013. "The Development of Stock Markets: In Search of a Theory," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 3(3), pages 606-624.
    20. Lee, Kuan-Hui & Yang, Cheol-Won, 2022. "The world price of tail risk," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    21. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/c8dmi8nm4pdjkuc9g70969520 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Alderighi, Stefano & Cleary, Siobhan & Varanasi, Padmasai, 2019. "Do institutional factors influence cross-border portfolio equity flows? New evidence from emerging markets," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    23. Wan-Jiun Paul Chiou & Vigdis W Boasson, 2015. "International Variations in the Benefits of Feasible Diversification Strategies," Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies (RPBFMP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(04), pages 1-38, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    International equity portfolio diversification; Stock market development; Equity home bias; Equity foreign bias; Shock based identification strategy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F3 - International Economics - - International Finance
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:rqfnac:v:54:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s11156-019-00793-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.