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Home bias and high turnover reconsidered

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  • Francis E. Warnock

Abstract

It is a stylized fact of international finance that foreign equities are underweighted (the home bias) but overtraded (the high turnover). Since stylized facts drive research, theoretical models are now developed to explain the puzzling coexistence of home bias and high turnover, first presented in Tesar and Werner (1995), and researchers now dismiss transaction costs as a plausible explanation of home bias. I show, however, that part of the puzzle--very high turnover rates on foreign equity portfolios--is based on inaccurate estimates of cross-border holdings. Revised estimates of holdings of foreign equities from comprehensive benchmark surveys produce foreign turnover rates that are much lower than previously reported and are comparable to domestic turnover rates. The implications of this finding are clear. First, researchers should no longer develop theoretical models to explain the coexistence of home bias and high turnover. Second, the relationship between transaction costs and home bias should be reexplored. On the second point, the basic intuition from Tesar and Werner (1995)--that transaction costs do not help explain the observed home bias--is confirmed using actual data on transaction costs in 41 markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Francis E. Warnock, 2001. "Home bias and high turnover reconsidered," International Finance Discussion Papers 702, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
  • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedgif:702
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Francis E. Warnock & Chad Cleaver, 2003. "Financial Centres and the Geography of Capital Flows," International Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(1), pages 27-59, March.
    2. Kang, Jun-Koo & Stulz, Rene M., 1997. "Why is there a home bias? An analysis of foreign portfolio equity ownership in Japan," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 3-28, October.
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    4. Choe, Hyuk & Kho, Bong-Chan & Stulz, Rene M., 1999. "Do foreign investors destabilize stock markets? The Korean experience in 1997," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 227-264, October.
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    8. Domowitz, Ian & Glen, Jack & Madhavan, Ananth, 2001. "Liquidity, Volatility and Equity Trading Costs across Countries and over Time," International Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(2), pages 221-255, Summer.
    9. 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.
    10. Tesar, Linda L. & Werner, Ingrid M., 1995. "Home bias and high turnover," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 467-492, August.
    11. Massimo Guidolin, 2005. "Home Bias and High Turnover in an Overlapping‐generations Model with Learning," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(4), pages 725-756, September.
    12. Karolyi, G. Andrew & Stulz, Rene M., 2003. "Are financial assets priced locally or globally?," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 16, pages 975-1020, Elsevier.
    13. Alaganar, V. T. & Bhar, Ramaprasad, 2001. "Diversification gains from American depositary receipts and foreign equities: evidence from Australian stocks," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 97-113, March.
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    International finance; Capital movements;

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