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Financial Fraud and Investor Awareness

Author

Listed:
  • Zhengqing Gui

    (Wuhan University)

  • Yangguang Huang

    (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)

  • Xiaojian Zhao

    (Monash University)

Abstract

We study a retail financial market with naive investors who are unaware of possible financial fraud. In our model, firms strategically choose whether to offer normal or fraudulent products to possibly unaware investors. Having new firms in the market makes offering normal products less profitable and thus discourages firms from behaving honestly. In a leader-follower environment, an honest firm may sell a normal product to sophisticated investors, while a dishonest firm targets only naive investors. By disclosing information about financial fraud, the honest firm can steal market share from the dishonest firm, but doing so may induce the dishonest firm to deviate and compete for the normal-product market, which limits the honest firm’s incentive to disclose information. Policy instruments, such as increasing legal punishment, implementing public education programs, and lowering the interest rate ceiling, may also trigger the honest firm to strategically shroud information. As a consequence, these policies cannot ensure an improvement in investor welfare.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhengqing Gui & Yangguang Huang & Xiaojian Zhao, 2021. "Financial Fraud and Investor Awareness," Monash Economics Working Papers 2021-06, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:mos:moswps:2021-06
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    financial fraud; investor naivety; unawareness; shrouding;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions

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