Using a novel measure of stock-level trade imitation, we uncover "smart" copycats: fund managers that use their own information when beneficial, and otherwise imitate other managers' better trades. Contrary to previous research, we find that these partial imitation strategies lead to...

This study examines how depositors choose among different banks and over time in Colombia, focusing on whether they discipline bank behavior. By controlling for a more comprehensive set of risk/return factors, the study improves upon conventional market discipline tests. Panel data estimations...

We introduce a novel methodology to identify copycat behavior in mutual funds. We find that imitation is pervasive in the mutual fund industry. While most copycats underperform, a small number are 'smart imitators'. We find that funds at the high and low ends of the Copycat Score range...

We look at the relationship between religion and innovation at the country level. Innovation is captured by the Global Innovation Index and certain innovation outputs. Religiosity is measured across 141 countries in terms of religious belonging, belief, and intolerance. In addition, we look at...

After building up foreign currency denominated (FC) liabilities over several years, Colombian firms might be vulnerable to a shift in external conditions. We undertake three empirical exercises to better understand these vulnerabilities. First, we identify the determinants of FC borrowing....

After building up foreign currency-denominated (FC) liabilities over several years, the balance sheets of Colombian firms might be particularly vulnerable to a shift in external conditions. This paper undertakes four exercises in order to get a better understanding of these vulnerabilities....

Using the 2003 and 2008 Quality of Life Surveys, this paper identifies the factors that affect housing tenure decisions in Colombia. Households with higher incomes are more likely to purchase than to rent, and the choice of formal housing is positively associated with wealth. Households eligible...

This paper examines the determinants of the high intermediation spread observed in the Colombian banking sector for over two decades. A reduced-form equation is estimated on the basis of a bank profit maximization model that permits a decomposition into operational costs, financial taxation,...

We theoretically establish a market microstructure bias embedded in the estimate of industry-adjusted idiosyncratic variance and empirically show that the bid-ask spread eliminates the observed time trend in aggregate idiosyncratic variance (Campbell, Lettau, Malkiel, and Xu, 2001). These...

I investigate whether mutual fund manager possess superior stock picking skills, by comparing the performance of stocks they hold in their portfolios versus that of stocks which they do not hold. In particular, I focus on a class of assets identified as "Lottery Stocks". These are stocks with...