We study changes in market quality variables associated with nine modifications to the New York State Securities Transaction Tax (STT) between 1932 and 1981. We find that when there is an increase in the level of an STT, individual stock volatility increases, bid-ask spreads widen, price impacts...

Existing theoretical literature suggests that floor trading has discernable benefits over electronic trading. In particular floor relationships lead to a reduction in asymmetric information and hence lower spreads. The ability of floor brokers to participate in incoming order flow without...

This paper presents a straightforward method for asymptotically removing the well-known upward bias in observed returns of equally-weighted portfolios. Our method removes all of the bias due to any random transient errors such as bid-ask bounce and allows for the estimation of short horizon...

In this paper, we apply the method for removing the upward bias in returns in equally-weighted return indexes developed by Fisher, Weaver, and Webb (2010) to REIT stocks in the US. While we find significant bias in this index, two trends are evident: first, there is less overall bias than in...

This paper examines the quotation behavior of dealers who made markets in the same stocks on both NASDAQ and either EASDAQ or the LSE. Whereas previous studies examine international integration at the market level, we examine integration at the dealer level. In other words, do dealers within the...

The SEC is considering the imposition of a trade-at rule which requires venues not at the inside to either significantly improve on price or route to a venue that is quoting at the inside. The rule is expected to greatly reduce the internalization of order flow either directly or through dark...

I describe household behavior in boom and bust economic cycles with a particular focus on the recent financial crisis. The behaviors are motivated by cognitive limitations and psychological bias. In boom times, households’ extrapolation bias and groupthink lead to chasing and extending asset...