Using newly-constructed data covering the last decade, we document that, in most of forty markets, when added to the main index, firms' returns experience an increase in comovement with the rest of the index, reflected in higher beta and greater explanatory power of the market return. Stock...

Financial frictions have been identified as key factors affecting economic fluctuations and growth. But, can institutional reforms reduce financial frictions? Based on a canonical investment model, we consider two potential channels: (i) financial transaction costs at the firm level; and (ii)...

We document the prevalence around the world of increased stock price comovement experienced by companies when added to major indices, and shed new light on the causes of this phenomenon. Using newly-constructed and extensive data covering forty developed and emerging markets over the last...

We investigate the relations among country-specific institutions, financial frictions, and firm-level investment decisions. Imposing structural restrictions, we consider the effects of institutions (such as shareholder and creditor rights) on firm investment through two channels: the cost of...

Financial frictions have been identified as key factors affecting economic fluctuations and growth. But, can institutional reforms reduce financial frictions? Based on a canonical investment model, we consider two potential channels: (i) financial transaction costs at the firm level; and (ii)...

Using newly-constructed data covering the last decade, we document that, in most of forty markets, when added to the main index, firms’ returns experience an increase in comovement with the rest of the index, reflected in higher beta and greater explanatory power of the market return. Stock...

We investigate company additions to stock market indices over a six-year period in 39 developed and emerging markets around the world. For most markets, we find a post-inclusion increase in beta and an increase in the explanatory power of market returns (R2), reflecting increased comovement...

We document increased stock price comovement for companies added to major indices around the world. Using data on forty developed and emerging markets for 10 years, we find that in most markets, when added to a major index, firms experience an increase in their beta (especially if their...

Financial frictions have been identified as key factors affecting both short-term economic fluctuations and long-term growth. An important policy question therefore is whether institutional reforms can reduce financial frictions and, if so, which reforms are best? We address this question by...