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Trading Costs and Informational Efficiency

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  • EDUARDO DÁVILA
  • CECILIA PARLATORE

Abstract

We study the effect of trading costs on information aggregation and acquisition in financial markets. For a given precision of investors' private information, an irrelevance result emerges when investors are ex ante identical: price informativeness is independent of the level of trading costs. When investors are ex ante heterogeneous, a change in trading costs can increase or decrease price informativeness, depending on the source of heterogeneity. Our results are valid under quadratic, linear, and fixed costs. Through a reduction in information acquisition, trading costs reduce price informativeness. We discuss how our results inform the policy debate on financial transaction taxes/Tobin taxes.

Suggested Citation

  • Eduardo Dávila & Cecilia Parlatore, 2021. "Trading Costs and Informational Efficiency," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 76(3), pages 1471-1539, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jfinan:v:76:y:2021:i:3:p:1471-1539
    DOI: 10.1111/jofi.13008
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    2. Cipriani, Marco & Guarino, Antonio & Uthemann, Andreas, 2022. "Financial transaction taxes and the informational efficiency of financial markets: A structural estimation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(3), pages 1044-1072.
    3. Eduardo Dávila, 2023. "Optimal Financial Transaction Taxes," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 78(1), pages 5-61, February.
    4. Sirnes Espen, 2022. "Estimating the Effect of Transaction Costs Using the Tick Size as a Proxy," Review of Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 73(1), pages 57-77, April.
    5. Maryam Farboodi & Laura Veldkamp, 2017. "Long Run Growth of Financial Technology," NBER Working Papers 23457, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    9. Maogang Tang & Silu Cheng & Wenqing Guo & Weibiao Ma & Fengxia Hu, 2023. "Relationship between carbon emission trading schemes and companies’ total factor productivity: evidence from listed companies in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(10), pages 11735-11767, October.
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    14. Dávila, Eduardo & Parlatore, Cecilia, 2023. "Volatility and informativeness," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(3), pages 550-572.
    15. Huang, Shiyang & Qiu, Zhigang & Yang, Liyan, 2020. "Institutionalization, delegation, and asset prices," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    16. Veldkamp, Laura & Farboodi, Maryam, 2018. "Long Run Growth of Financial Data Technology," CEPR Discussion Papers 13278, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading

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