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Marking to market versus taking to market

Author

Listed:
  • Plantin, Guillaume
  • Tirole, Jean

Abstract

While the debate on cost and market-value accounting has been raging for years, economists lack a framework allowing a comparison of their relative merits. This paper considers an agency model in which the measurement of an asset can be based on public market data (marking to market) and/or on the realization of its value through costly resale to an informed buyer (taking to market). At the optimal contract, noisier market data lead to cost accounting and gains trading (selling winners/keeping losers) whereas accurate data naturally favor market-value accounting. The quality of market data and the magnitude of resale costs both depend on the volume of transactions, and therefore on accounting rules. The paper studies the mutual feedback between individually optimal accounting rules and asset market liquidity. This equilibrium approach reveals a socially excessive use of market-value accounting that dries up market liquidity and reduces the informativeness of price signals.

Suggested Citation

  • Plantin, Guillaume & Tirole, Jean, 2015. "Marking to market versus taking to market," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 65104, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:65104
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    File URL: https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/65104/
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    Cited by:

    1. Ferracuti, Elia & Stubben, Stephen R., 2019. "The role of financial reporting in resolving uncertainty about corporate investment opportunities," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(2).
    2. Florian Hoffmann & Roman Inderst & Marcus Opp, 2021. "Only Time Will Tell: A Theory of Deferred Compensation [Motivating Innovation in Newly Public Firms]," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(3), pages 1253-1278.
    3. Esraa Esam Alharasis & Hossam Haddad & Maha Shehadeh & Ahmad Saleem Tarawneh, 2022. "Abnormal Monitoring Costs Charged for Auditing Fair Value Model: Evidence from Jordanian Finance Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-21, March.
    4. Florian Hoffmann & Roman Inderst & Marcus Opp, 2022. "The Economics of Deferral and Clawback Requirements," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(4), pages 2423-2470, August.
    5. Basso, Henrique S., 2022. "Asset holdings, information aggregation in secondary markets and credit cycles," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    6. Clemens A. Otto & Paolo F. Volpin, 2018. "Marking to Market and Inefficient Investment Decisions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(8), pages 3756-3771, August.
    7. Le Quang, Gaëtan, 2021. "“Taking Diversity Into Account”: Real effects of accounting measurement on asset allocation," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 135-143.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • M52 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects

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