The impact of financial transaction taxes on stock markets: Short-run effects, long-run effects, and migration

We investigate the impact of the French 2012 financial transaction tax on trading volumes and volatility. We extend empirical research by analyzing announcement and short-run treatment effects, migration effects, and long-run volatility measures. We find a strong short-run impact on trading volume, but show that the long-run effect is small and only significant for low liquidity stocks. We also identify a reduction of long-term volatility measures after the effective date as evidence for a market-stabilizing effect, and an increase in the trading volume of substitute stocks as evidence for a migration of trading activity.