We investigate the effects of introducing a fee on excessive order to trade ratios (OTR) on market quality at the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE). We find that traders reacted to the regulation, as measured OTRs fell. However, market quality, measured with depth, spreads, and realized volatility,...

A recent innovation in equity markets is the introduction of market maker ser-vices paid for by the listed companies themselves. We investigate why firms arewilling to pay a cost to improve the secondary market liquidity of their shares. Weshow that a contributing factor in this decision is the...

We explore the effects of a "tick size war" where European exchanges competed directly on the minimum pricing increment in the limit order book, the tick size. We find exchanges that reduced their tick size immediately captured market shares of quoted and executed volume from exchanges that kept...

This paper provides an examination of the ownership structure in Norwegian firms that announced repurchase plans during the period 1999 through 2001, as well as for groups of these firms conditional on whether they actually executed repurchases or not. By using detailed information on various...

We use data on actual holding periods for all investors in a stock market over a 10 year period to investigate the links between holding periods, liquidity, and asset returns. Microstructure measures of liquidity are shown to be important determinants of the holding period decision of individual...

We show evidence of a contemporaneous relation between stock market liquidity and the business cycle. Stock market liquidity worsen when the economy is slowing down, and this effect is most pronounced for small firms. Using data for both the US and Norway, we find strong evidence that stock...