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Institutional Determinants of International Equity Portfolios - A Country-Level Analysis

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  • Barbara Berkel

    (Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA))

Abstract

Despite large potential gains, international equity investment is less diversified across countries than predicted by the international version of the traditional capital asset pricing model (ICAPM). This paper provides empirical evidence on the impact of capital market frictions on international equity portfolios using data on bilateral equity holdings. Two important findings are reported: First, besides a home bias in equities, a ‘friendship bias’ can be observed for some country pairs. Second, indirect barriers such as the degree of financial market development and especially information asymmetries have strong explanatory power, whereas direct barriers such as capital flow restrictions have no impact on the portfolio share of foreign equities.

Suggested Citation

  • Barbara Berkel, 2004. "Institutional Determinants of International Equity Portfolios - A Country-Level Analysis," MEA discussion paper series 04061, Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy.
    • Handle: RePEc:mea:meawpa:04061
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • F36 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Financial Aspects of Economic Integration

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