Does gender diversity on boards influence stock market liquidity? Empirical evidence from the French market

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 669-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Loukil ◽  
Ouidad Yousfi ◽  
Raissa Yerbanga
Keyword(s):  
Stock Market ◽  
Least Squares ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Market Liquidity ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Women Directors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
Inside Directors ◽  
Stock Market Liquidity

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the gender diversity on boards and its effect on stock market liquidity in French boardrooms. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of French firms between 2002 and 2012 listed on the Paris Stock Exchange (SBF120), the study uses ordinary least squares and three-stage least squares (3SLS) regressions to address endogeneity concerns on the board gender diversity. Findings The results show that stock market liquidity is positively and significantly associated with the presence of women directors. The authors find that investors’ decisions vary according to their positions in the board: women independent members decrease illiquidity costs, while the presence of female inside directors increases daily trading volume. In addition, the presence of female inside directors increases the firm’s ability to implement better strategies that cope with economic, social and environmental constraints which leads investors to positively react. Surprisingly, the presence of female independent directors reduces company involvement in sustainable development projects. Practical implications The empirical findings contribute to the current debate on the benefits of gender diversity on corporate boards and the effectiveness of gender-quota laws. It shows that appointing insider female’ directors incite investors to trade more stocks while appointing independents ones reduces their trading costs. Social implications This paper shows that the benefits of female directors appointing depend on their independence of management team. Originality/value This study addresses the endogeneity between stock market liquidity, corporate governance and gender diversity. It is the first study to distinguish between the effects of women inside and independent directors on investors’ trading decisions.

Does gender diversity on boards reduce information asymmetry problems? Empirical evidence from the French market

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-166
Author(s):  
Nadia Loukil ◽  
Ouidad Yousfi ◽  
Raissa Wend-kuuni Yerbanga
Keyword(s):  
Asymmetric Information ◽  
Stock Market ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Market Liquidity ◽  
Idiosyncratic Volatility ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Bid Ask Spread ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of female members in boards of directors on asymmetric information in the French stock market. Design/methodology/approach The authors use two proxies for asymmetric information: the idiosyncratic volatility and the bid-ask spread. This study is conducted on all listed firms in the SBF 120 index between 2002 and 2012. Findings Results show that gender diversity in boardrooms has a negative effect on the level of private information in stock markets and reduces the bid-ask spread. However, these effects are significant in family-controlled firms: female inside directors significantly increase the idiosyncratic volatility and the bid-ask spread, while female independent directors decrease both proxies for stock market liquidity. Research limitations/implications Our empirical findings contribute to the current debate on the benefits of gender diversity on corporate boards from the market perspective. It shows that, under specific conditions, financial markets could be receptive to the presence of female directors in boardrooms. Practical implications Practitioners and policymakers advocate the benefits of gender diversity on corporate boards. This paper shows that when the protection of minority shareholders is poor, the stock market is receptive to the presence of women independent directors, only in family controlled firms. This is a further argument that could help women to overcome glass-ceiling barriers they usually face to achieve top management positions. Originality/value This paper provides support for the increased attention paid to gender-diverse boards. It addresses the market sensitivity toward the presence of women members in French boardrooms and their positions. This is the first paper, to the best of our knowledge, to address how appointing women to different positions in the boardroom could provide signals to investors in the presence of asymmetric information. French firms are mostly family controlled. Thus, the findings bring valuable information of the impact of board diversity on the stock market considering family and nonfamily firms.

Ownership concentration, earnings management and stock market liquidity: evidence from Malaysia

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 490-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamdan Amer Al-Jaifi
Keyword(s):  
Stock Market ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Instrumental Variables ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
Market Liquidity ◽  
Ownership Concentration ◽  
Estimation Methods ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stock Market Liquidity ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to examine whether ownership concentration and earnings management affect the stock market liquidity of Malaysian firms. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a sample of 2,020 yearly firm observations in Bursa Malaysia over the period 2009-2012. The ordinary least square regression is used to examine the relationships. The study undertakes a sensitivity test by regressing the main study variables by using different measurements. Another robustness test is then used, where a regression based on the change in variables and a one-year lag of the independent variables are used. Furthermore, to alleviate the concern of possible endogeneity, the simultaneity and reverse causality are checked using the lag of the dependent variable, fixed effect regression, two-stage least squares using the instrumental variables and the generalized method of moments using instrumental variables analysis. Findings The study finds that firms with a high level of ownership concentration have discrepancies in information between informed and uninformed traders, which impair the stock market liquidity. In addition, this study finds that firms with high earnings management experience greater liquidity. A possible explanation for this is that firms might manage earnings to convey private information to enhance the information content of the earnings. Overall, the evidence suggests that manipulating earnings signals information informatively, particularly in a country with a higher level of ownership concentration and a higher likelihood of expropriating minority shareholders. Originality/value This study enriches the limited empirical research devoted to the impact of earnings management and ownership concentration on stock market liquidity especially in the context of emerging economies. The findings of this study are robust to alternative liquidity measurements, to alternative estimation methods, and to endogeneity bias.

Board independence, gender diversity and CEO compensation

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 845-860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramzi Benkraiem ◽  
Amal Hamrouni ◽  
Faten Lakhal ◽  
Nadia Toumi
Keyword(s):  
Ceo Compensation ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Joint Effect ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Women Directors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Managers ◽  
Board Decision Making ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the joint effect of board independence and gender diversity on the effectiveness of boards in monitoring CEO compensation in a continental European context, i.e. France. Design/methodology/approach Fixed-effect regressions are used to study the impact of board independence, gender diversity and their interaction, i.e. the proportion of female independent directors on the different components of CEO compensation (total, fixed and variable). Findings The authors observe that both the proportions of independent directors and women sitting on the boards positively influence the various components of CEO compensation. However, the interaction of these factors, i.e. the proportion of female independent directors, is negatively associated with CEO compensation. These results suggest that independent women directors improve board effectiveness in monitoring CEO compensation, especially its fixed component. Originality/value The results of this research help to elucidate the importance of women being appointed to boards as independent directors to properly monitor managerial pay. These results provide support to the approach of the French Cope-Zimmerman law of January 2011, which promotes female representation on boards as independent directors to enhance board decision-making. Thus, evidence presented and discussed in this paper should provide useful insights for academics, corporate managers and regulators.

Female directors and the cost of debt: does gender diversity in the boardroom matter to lenders?

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 374-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Usman ◽  
Muhammad Umar Farooq ◽  
Junrui Zhang ◽  
Muhammad Abdul Majid Makki ◽  
Muhammad Kaleem Khan
Keyword(s):  
Least Squares ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Cost Of Debt ◽  
Least Squares Regression ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Loan Default ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
The Cost

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the question concerning whether gender diversity in the boardroom matters to lenders or not? Design/methodology/approach To answer this question, the authors use the data from 2009 to 2015 of all A-share listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. The authors use ordinary least squares regression and firm fixed effect regression to draw our inferences. To check and control the issue of endogeneity the authors use one-year lagged gender diversity regression, two-stage least squares regression, propensity score matching method and Heckman two-stage regression. Findings The results suggest that the presence of female directors on the board reduces managerial opportunistic behavior and information asymmetry and, consequently, creditors’ perceptions about the probability of loan default and the cost of debt. The authors find that lenders charge 4 per cent less from borrowers that have at least one female board member than they do from borrowers with no female board members. The authors also find that the board structure (i.e. gender diversity) of government-owned firms also matters to lenders, as government-owned firms that have gender-diverse boards have a lower cost of debt (i.e. 5 per cent lower interest rate). Practical Implications The findings have implications for individual borrowers and for regulators. For example, borrowers can get debt financing at lower rates by altering their boards’ composition (i.e. through gender diversity). From the regulatory perspective, the results support recent legislative initiatives around the world regarding female directors’ representation on boards. Originality Value This paper makes several contributions. First, beyond the recent studies on boardroom gender, the authors investigate the relationship between gender diversity in the boardroom and the cost of debt. Second, the authors extend the literature on the association between government ownership and cost of debt by first time providing evidence that the board composition (e.g. gender diversity) of government-owned firms also matters to the lenders. The other contributions are discussed in the introduction section.

scholarly journals Stock market liquidity, the great lockdown and the COVID-19 global pandemic nexus in MENA countries

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anas Alaoui Mdaghri ◽  
Abdessamad Raghibi ◽  
Cuong Nguyen Thanh ◽  
Lahsen Oubdi
Keyword(s):  
Stock Market ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Market Liquidity ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
Stock Market Returns ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mena Countries ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Stock Market Liquidity ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on stock market liquidity, while taking into account the depth and tightness dimensions.Design/methodology/approachThe author used a panel data regression on stock market dataset, representing 314 listed firms operating in six Middle East and North African (MENA) countries from February to May 2020.FindingsThe regression results on the overall sample indicate that the liquidity related to the depth measure was positively correlated with the growth in the confirmed number of cases and deaths and stringency index. Moreover, the market depth was positively related to the confirmed cases of COVID-19. The results also indicate that the liquidity of small cap and big cap firms was significantly impacted by the confirmed number of cases, while the stringency index is only significant for the liquidity depth measure. Moreover, the results regarding sectors and country level analysis confirmed that COVID-19 had a significant and negative impact of stock market liquidity.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper confirms that the global coronavirus pandemic has decreased the stock market liquidity in terms of both the depth and the tightness dimensions.Originality/valueWhile most empirical papers focused on the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on stock market returns, this paper investigated liquidity chock at firm level in the MENA region using both tightness and depth dimensions.

Economic policy uncertainty and stock market liquidity

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Byomakesh Debata ◽  
Jitendra Mahakud
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Stock Market ◽  
Financial Crises ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Decomposition Analysis ◽  
Market Liquidity ◽  
Policy Uncertainty ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Policy Uncertainty ◽  
Stock Market Liquidity

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between economic policy uncertainty and stock market liquidity in an order-driven emerging stock market. Design/methodology/approach Empirical estimates are based on vector autoregressive Granger-causality tests, impulse response functions and variance decomposition analysis. Findings The empirical findings suggest that economic policy uncertainty moderately influences stock market liquidity during normal market conditions. However, the role of economic policy uncertainty for determining stock market liquidity is significant in times of financial crises. The authors have also observed a significant portion of variation in stock market liquidity that is attributed to investor sentiments during financial crises. Originality/value This study is original in nature and provides evidence to consider economic policy uncertainty as a possible source of commonality in liquidity in the context of an emerging market.

Women directors and IPO underpricing: evidence from Indian markets

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 186-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rekha Handa ◽  
Balwinder Singh
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Women Directors ◽  
Ipo Underpricing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gender Balance ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
Gender Diverse

Purpose – This paper aims to fill the gap of the relatively under-researched impact of women directors on initial public offering (IPO) underpricing in developing countries. Gender diversity is an important emerging issue within the corporate governance literature. Recently, there has been a growing thrust on gender-diverse boards. However, their proportion on corporate boards is low worldwide. The paper examines the influence of women directors on the underpricing phenomenon pervasive in the IPO context. Design/methodology/approach – Gender diversity is an important emerging issue within the corporate governance literature. Recently, there has been a growing thrust on gender diverse boards. However, their proportion on corporate boards is low worldwide. The impact of women directors on IPO underpricing in developing countries remains relatively under-researched. This paper aims to fill this gap in research. The paper examines the influence of women directors on the underpricing phenomenon pervasive in the IPO context. Findings – The results suggest that the subscription ratio, listing delay and block holder ownership positively influence raw returns and market-adjusted excess returns. The proportion of women directors showed negative non-significant impact on both type of returns. We did not find evidence of the other explanatory variables included in the model. Research limitations/implications – The relatively low proportion of female directors may be the reason for some of the non-significant findings. Future research with a good gender balance on boards is likely to help generalising the findings. Other confounding factors also need to be included in the model for deeper explanations of the phenomenon. Practical implications – The study highlights the existence of a “glass ceiling” in Indian corporate settings, where women have to make a tough fight. This barrier must be removed to unleash the real talent of women as directors and see this talent reflected in returns. Social implications – The paper highlights both the need to better manage the gender balance in corporate board rooms and the need to incorporate women’s talents in corporate and investment decisions. Originality/value – The paper highlights the significant gender gap in IPO directorial positions in developing countries such as India. It explores female directors’ contributions in initial pricing performance, which remain unaddressed in this part of the world. Insights into this sensitive issue in an emerging economy such as India can provide important inputs.

Security market regulation: antecedents for capital market confidence in frontier markets

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-173
Author(s):  
Erick Rading Outa ◽  
Nelson Maina Waweru ◽  
Peterson Kitakogelu Ozili
Keyword(s):  
Stock Market ◽  
Capital Market ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Market Liquidity ◽  
Security Market ◽  
Market Regulation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Market Effects ◽  
Strong Motivation ◽  
Stock Market Liquidity

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the capital market effects of corporate governance (CG) practices of a “comply or explain” environment on stock market liquidity in a frontier market.Design/methodology/approachUsing secondary data from Nairobi Securities Exchange, the liquidity position is analyzed using panel data random effects regression against CG guidelines.FindingsThe results show a negative and significant relationship between CG compliance and stock market liquidity, suggesting that regulated CG practices improve market liquidity in Kenya. The results are remarkably robust to different measures of liquidity and supports agency and signaling theory.Practical implicationsThe authors provide evidence to show that security regulation improves stock market liquidity in a frontier market whose characteristics are thought not to favor regulation. Therefore, regulators and stakeholders could be motivated by the benefits of regulation, and this could lead to renewed effort to improve CG compliance.Originality valueThe findings show that security market regulation through CG guidelines can improve stock market liquidity in frontier markets. This offers regulators and policymakers a strong motivation to enhance security regulation to improve capital market confidence.

Impact of board characteristics on firm dividends: evidence from India

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1204-1215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neeti Khetarpal Sanan
Keyword(s):  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Cash Flows ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Dividend Payout ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Board Characteristics ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
Free Cash Flows ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study examined the impact of board size, independence and gender diversity on firm dividend payout. Furthermore, it examined whether the board characteristic–dividend payout relationship was moderated by free cash flows in the firm. Design/methodology/approach A total of 118 Indian firms representing multiple industries were examined for a period of four financial years from 2013 to 2016. The data are in panel form given the cross-sectional and time series nature of the study. Random effects specification was used for analysis Findings Results of the study indicated that the proportion of independent directors and proportion of female directors on the board have a negative and significant effect on dividend payout. In addition, the results showed a negative and significant moderating role of free cash flows, which implied that the magnitude of the impact of the proportion of independent directors and the proportion of female directors on the board on dividend payout is significantly greater in firms with high free cash flows. Overall, the results suggested that firms whose board characteristics signaled strong governance paid lower dividends. Originality/value This study contributes to a nuanced understanding of internal governance mechanisms by presenting evidence of the substitution hypothesis from an emerging economy, one in which firms operate within a unique regulatory framework of board composition.

International stock market liquidity: a review

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Ma ◽  
Hamish D. Anderson ◽  
Ben R. Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Stock Market ◽  
Stock Markets ◽  
Market Liquidity ◽  
Short Sales ◽  
Liquidity Premium ◽  
Content Type ◽  
International Stock Markets ◽  
Stock Market Liquidity ◽  
Dark Pools ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on liquidity in international stock markets, highlights differences and similarities in empirical results across existing studies, and identifies areas requiring further research. Design/methodology/approach – International cross-country studies on stock market liquidity are categorized and reviewed. Important relevant single-country studies are also discussed. Findings – Market liquidity is influenced by exchange characteristics (e.g. the presence of market makers) and regulations (e.g. short-sales constraints). The literature has identified the most appropriate liquidity measures for global research, and for emerging and frontier markets, respectively. Major empirical facts are as follows. Liquidity co-varies within and across countries. Both the liquidity level and liquidity uncertainty are priced internationally. Liquidity is positively associated with firm transparency and share issuance, and negatively related to dividends paid out. The impact of internationalization on liquidity is not universal across firms and countries. Some suggested areas for future studies include: dark pools, high-frequency trading, commonality in liquidity premium, funding liquidity, liquidity and capital structure, and liquidity and transparency. Research limitations/implications – The paper focusses on international stock markets and does not consider liquidity in international bond or foreign exchange markets. Originality/value – This paper provides a comprehensive survey of empirical studies on liquidity in international developed and emerging stock markets.

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