This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Do Privatizations Boost Household Shareholding? Evidence from Italy

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Ottavio Ricchi (Ministry of the Economy and Finance, Government of the Republic of Italy)
Adolfo Di Carluccio (Ministry of the Economy and Finance, Government of the Republic of Italy)
Cecilia Frale (Ministry of the Economy and Finance, Government of the Republic of Italy)
Abstract

It is believed that privatizations substantially contributed to boost stock markets through the 1980s and 1990s. However, trough which channels did that materialize? We test whether privatizations –improving households’ acquaintance with the risk and return characteristics of stocks through the massive accompanying advertising campaigns– boosted demand for stocks by enlarging the set of households willing to invest in shares. We use a unique micro-data set collected for a large sample of Italian households on Public Offerings (PO) during 1995-99, the climax of privatizations in Italy. We show that advertising increased the notoriety of the incoming PO at households, and through this furthered households’ propensity to subscribe that PO. Furthermore, the propensity to subscribe the incoming PO also increased as households became better informed about past privatizations. Thus, privatizations expanded households’ share participation in Italy.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.feem.it/NR/rdonlyres/6756FEC0-CE5D-428B-BF81-26DA01214A7F/1012/0304.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei in its series Working Papers with number 2004.3.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: Jan 2004
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:fem:femwpa:2004.3

Contact details of provider:
Postal: Corso Magenta, 63 - 20123 Milan
Phone: 0039-2-52036934
Fax: 0039-2-52036946
Email:
Web page: http://www.feem.it/
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (barbara racah).

Related research
Keywords: Household portfolio choice; Information; Privatizations;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Personal Finance
D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information
E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Guiso, Luigi & Jappelli, Tullio, 2000. "Household Portfolios in Italy," CEPR Discussion Papers 2549, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Guiso, Luigi & Jappelli, Tullio & Terlizzese, Daniele, 1996. "Income Risk, Borrowing Constraints, and Portfolio Choice," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(1), pages 158-72, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Mervyn A. King & Jonathan I. Leape, 1987. "Asset Accumulation, Information, and the Life Cycle," NBER Working Papers 2392, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Levine, Ross & Zervos, Sara, 1998. "Stock Markets, Banks, and Economic Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 537-58, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Browning, Martin & Deaton, Angus & Irish, Margaret, 1985. "A Profitable Approach to Labor Supply and Commodity Demands over the Life-Cycle," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 53(3), pages 503-43, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Paxson, Christina, 1990. "Borrowing Constraints and Portfolio Choice," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 105(2), pages 535-43, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Fabio Panetta & Roberto Violi, 1999. "Is there an Equity Premium Puzzle in Italy? A Look at Asset Returns, Consumption and Financial Structure Data over the Last Century," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 353, Bank of Italy, Economic Research Department. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Gabriella Chiesa & Giovanna Nicodano, 2003. "Privatization and Financial Market Development: Theoretical Issues," Working Papers 2003.1, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei. [Downloadable!]
  9. Luigi Guiso & Michael Haliassos & Tullio Jappelli, 2000. "Household Portfolios: An International Comparison," CSEF Working Papers 48, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy. [Downloadable!]
  10. Christian Gollier & Richard J. Zeckhauser, 1997. "Horizon Length and Portfolio Risk," NBER Technical Working Papers 0216, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Jones, Steven L. & Megginson, William L. & Nash, Robert C. & Netter, Jeffry M., 1999. "Share issue privatizations as financial means to political and economic ends," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 217-253, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Bortolotti, Bernardo & Fantini, Marcella & Siniscalco, Domenico, 2001. "Privatisation Around the World: New Evidence from Panel Data," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  13. Bortolotti, Bernardo & de Jong, Frank & Nicodano, Giovanna & Schindele, Ibolya, 2004. "Privatization and Stock Market Liquidity," CEPR Discussion Papers 4449, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
Full references

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? You can import bibliographic info in various formats into you bibliographic tool, or just into your word processor. See under "publisher info" on each abstract page.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-6.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.