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Abstract:
In this paper we empirically investigate to what extent three competing asset pricing models price an individual firm's stock differently in an internationally integrated world: (i) the multifactor ICAPM of Solnik-Sercu including both the global market portfolio and exchange rate risk premiums, (ii) the single factor ICAPM with only the global market portfolio, and (iii) the single factor domestic CAPM. We generalize the pricing error expressions of Stulz (1995b) for the domestic CAPM against the single factor ICAPM to the multifactor model with exchange rate factors included. Furthermore, we derive formal statistical tests for the existence of a pricing error of the domestic CAPM versus both the single factor ICAPM and the multifactor ICAPM. We test for the significance of these pricing errors in a sample of 2,483 firms from 10 industrialized countries using monthly data from 1980 to 1995. We find that the single factor ICAPM without exchange rate factors induces mispricing for more than 60% of all firms. The domestic CAPM leads to a substantial and statistically significant pricing error for approximately 7% of all firms.

Abstract:
This paper reviews 25 years of research on the size effect in international equity returns. Since Banz's (1981) original study, numerous papers have appeared on the empirical regularity that small firms have higher risk-adjusted stock returns than large firms. A quarter of a century after its discovery, the outlook for the size effect seems bleak. Yet, empirical asset pricing models that incorporate a factor portfolio mimicking underlying economic risks proxied by firm size are increasingly used by both academics and practitioners. Applications range from event studies and mutual fund performance measurement to computing the cost of equity capital. The aim of this paper is to review the literature on the size effect and synthesize the extensive debate on the validity and persistence of the size effect as an empirical phenomenon as well as the theoretical explanations for the effect. We discuss the implications for academic research and corporate finance and suggest a number of avenues for further research.

Size effect, international equity returns, CAPM, anomalies

Abstract:
This paper evaluates investment strategies that exploit the deviations from theoretical price parity in a sample of 12 dual-listed companies (DLCs) in the period 1980-2002. We show that simple trading rules produce abnormal returns of up to almost 10% per annum adjusted for systematic risk, transaction costs, and margin requirements. However, arbitrageurs face uncertainty about the horizon at which prices will converge and deviations from parity are very volatile. As a result, DLC arbitrage is characterized by substantial idiosyncratic return volatility and a high incidence of large negative returns, which are likely to impede arbitrage.

Arbitrage, dual-listed companies, idiosyncratic risk, anomalies, international finance

Abstract:
This paper analyzes the cost of capital of firms with foreign equity listings. Our purpose is to shed light on the question whether international and domestic asset pricing models yield a different estimate of the cost of capital for cross-listed stocks. We distinguish between (i) the multifactor ICAPM of Solnik (1983) and Sercu (1980) including both the global market portfolio and exchange rate risk premia, and (ii) the single factor domestic CAPM. We test for the significance of the cost of capital differential in a sample of 336 cross-listed stocks from nine countries in the period 1980-1999. Our hypothesis is that the cost of capital differential is substantial for firms with international listings, as these are often large multinationals with a strong international orientation. We find that the asset pricing models yield a significantly different estimate of the cost of capital for only 12 percent of the cross-listed companies. The size of the cost of capital differential is around 50 basis points for the U.S., 80 basis points for the U.K., and 100 basis points for France.

Cross-listings, cost of equity capital, foreign exchange exposure

Abstract:
International financial markets are becoming integrated. Hence, globalrisk factor are increasingly important for portfolio selection andasset pricing. The recent empirical finance literature has confirmedthat both the global market portfolio and exchange rate risk factorsconstitute important determinants of asset returns. We show, however,that global risk factors do not importantly affect estimates of thecost of equity capital for a remarkably wide variety of companies. Weanalyze almost 3,300 stocks from nine industrialized countries overthe period 1980-1999. Incorporating global factors into cost ofcapital estimations leads to an adjustment of roughly 50 basis pointsper annum on average for the U.S. and 70 to 100 basis points for theother countries. Adjustments of this magnitude easily fall inside themargin of error associated with actual cost of capital computations.Specifically for U.S. companies, the amendment of the cost of capitalestimate is generally very small. This suggests that global riskfactors do not really matter for computing the cost of capital of U.S.firms.

cost of equity capital, exchange rate risk, capital budgeting, valuation

Abstract:
This Paper analyzes purchasing power parity (PPP) for the euro area. We study the impact of the introduction of the euro in 1999 on the behavior of real exchange rates. We test the PPP hypothesis for a panel of real exchange rates within the euro area over the period 1973-2003. Our methodology exploits the cross-sectional dependence across real exchange rates and allows for heterogeneity in the rates of mean reversion. We present evidence in favor of PPP for the full panel of real exchange rates, but we show that accounting for cross-country differences within the euro area is essential. The unit root hypothesis can be rejected for some real exchange rates, but evidence for PPP is weak for others. We also investigate PPP between the 'synthetic' euro against several other major currencies over the period 1979-2003. We find support for the PPP hypothesis for the full panel of real exchange rates. When the restriction of a common mean reversion coefficient is relaxed, we reject the unit root hypothesis for the euro-Swiss franc rate only. We conclude that the process of economic integration in Europe has accelerated convergence toward PPP within the euro area.

European integration, real exchange rates, purchasing power parity, heterogenous SUR

Abstract:
This paper analyzes purchasing power parity (PPP) for the euro area. We study the impact of the introduction of the euro in 1999 on the behavior of real exchange rates. We test the PPP hypothesis for a panel of real exchange rates within the euro area over the period 1973-2003. Our methodology exploits the cross-sectional dependence across real exchange rates and allows for heterogeneity in the rates of mean reversion. We present evidence in favor of PPP for the full panel of real exchange rates, but we show that accounting for cross-country differences within the euro area is essential. The unit root hypothesis can be rejected for some real exchange rates, but evidence for PPP is weak for others. We also investigate PPP between the “synthetic” euro against several other major currencies over the period 1979-2003. We find support for the PPP hypothesis for the full panel of real exchange rates. When the restriction of a common mean reversion coefficient is relaxed, we reject the unit root hypothesis for the euro-Swiss franc rate only. We conclude that the process of economic integration in Europe has accelerated convergence toward PPP within the euro area.

european integration, real exchange rates, purchasing power parity, heterogeneous SUR

Abstract:
This paper analyzes the cost of capital of firms with foreign equity listings. Our purpose is to shed light on the question whether international and domestic asset pricing models yield a different estimate of the cost of capital for cross-listed stocks. We distinguish between (i) the multifactor ICAPM of Solnik (1983) and Sercu (1980) including both the global market portfolio and exchange rate risk premia, and (ii) the single factor domestic CAPM. We test for the significance of the cost of capital differential in a sample of 336 cross-listed stocks from nine countries in the period 1980-1999. Our hypothesis is that the cost of capital differential is substantial for firms with international listings, as these are often large multinationals with a strong international orientation. We find that the asset pricing models yield a significantly different estimate of the cost of capital for only 12 percent of the cross-listed companies. The size of the cost of capital differential is around 50 basis points for the U.S., 80 basis points for the U.K., and 100 basis points for France.

Cross-listings, cost of equity capital, foreign exchange exposure

Abstract:
We study how co-movement (or "commonality") in stock returns, liquidity, and turnover varies across countries and over time. Our monthly time-series measures of commonality are constructed using daily data on 21,328 stocks in 40 developed and emerging countries over the period from 1995 to 2004. We uncover a number of common determinants of commonality in returns, liquidity, and turnover and evaluate several supply-side explanations (related to the funding liquidity of financial intermediaries) and demand-side explanations (related to investor protections, the trading behavior of international and institutional investors, and investor sentiment) for commonality. Across countries, we show that commonality is greater in those with weaker investor protections and a more opaque information environment. In the time-series dynamics, we find that commonality is greater during times of high market volatility, large market declines, heightened presence of international and institutional investors, and when investor sentiment is positive. Overall, these new empirical facts about commonality are more reliably consistent with demand-side explanations for commonality, especially for stocks in emerging countries.

Commonality, stock returns, turnover, liquidity, international markets

Abstract:
This paper examines the interaction between a firm's capital structure and its market share. Theory predicts that this relation depends on the type of strategic competition (i.e., Cournot or Bertrand). We distinguish between Cournot and Bertrand industries in a sample of U.S. manufacturing firms based on an empirical measure of strategic substitutes and strategic complements. We study the joint determination of leverage and market share and test the theoretical predictions of Dasgupta and Titman (1998) and Faure-Grimaud (2000). We show that in Cournot (Bertrand) competition, leverage negatively (positively) affects market share. Conversely, market share has a negative impact on leverage for Cournot firms, but no impact for Bertrand firms. Our findings emphasize the role of strategic competition in the interaction between capital structure and market share.

Strategic debt, capital structure, market share, Cournot competition, Bertrand competition

Abstract:
We examine the consequences of transparency in an experimentalmultiple-dealer market with asymmetrically informed dealers. Fiveprofessional securities traders make a market for a single security.In each trading round, one of the dealers (the "insider") is told thesecurity's true value. We vary both pre-trade and post-tradetransparency by changing the way quote and trade information ispublished. The insider's profits are greatest when price efficiency islowest. Price efficiency, in turn, is reduced by pre-tradetransparency and increased by posttrade transparency. Marketliquidity, measured by dealers' bid-ask spreads, is improved bypre-trade transparency and reduced by post-trade transparency.

financial markets, market microstructure, experimental economics, information asymmetry

Abstract:
This paper examines (i) whether market reactions to cross-listings differ across destination markets and (ii) to what extent the following explanations for value creation around cross-listings can account for differences in market reactions across cross-listings on various destination markets: overcoming market segmentation, increased market liquidity, improved information disclosure, and better investor protection (“bonding”). We analyze 526 cross-listings from 44 different countries on 8 major stock exchanges and document significant announcement returns of 1.3% on average for cross-listings on U.S. exchanges, 1.1% on London Stock Exchange, 0.6% on exchanges in continental Europe, and 0.5% (not significant) on Tokyo Stock Exchange. We find evidence consistent with improved disclosure and bonding creating value for cross-listings on U.S. exchanges, while overcoming segmentation and bonding are associated with higher announcement returns on the London Stock Exchange. The evidence is mixed for continental European exchanges and for Tokyo. Our results highlight the role of the destination market in value creation around cross-listings.

Cross-listings, Capital market integration, Investor protection, Market liquidity, Information disclosure

Abstract:
We investigate how competitive behavior affects the capital structure of a firm. Theory predicts that the impact of different types of output market uncertainty (in particular, unanticipated shocks in demand and costs) on a firm's leverage depends on the type of competition in an industry. We test these predictions in a sample of U.S. manufacturing firms by classifying firms into Cournot competition (strategic substitutes), and Bertrand competition (strategic complements). We show that demand uncertainty is positively related to leverage for firms in both the Cournot and the Bertrand sample. Cost uncertainty has a significantly positive impact on the leverage of Cournot firms, but plays a negligible role for Bertrand firms. Our results support the strategic use of debt and highlight the role of firms' competitive behavior in the product market in their capital structure decisions.

Strategic debt, Cournot competition, Bertrand competition, demand and cost uncertainty, leverage

Abstract:
We show that inflation risk is priced in international asset returns. We analyze the price of inflation risk in a framework that includes the International Capital Asset Pricing Model (ICAPM) as a special case. In contrast to the literature, we relax the assumption that inflation rates are constant. We estimate and test a conditional version of the model for the G5 countries (France, Germany, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S.) over the period 1975-2003. We find evidence of statistically significant prices of inflation risk (in addition to priced nominal exchange rate risk). We demonstrate that inflation risk premia are an economically important component of international asset returns. Our results can be interpreted as a rejection of the ICAPM. Moreover, we show that even after the termination of nominal exchange rate fluctuations in the euro area after 1999, differences in inflation rates across countries entail non-trivial real exchange rate risk premia.

International asset pricing, Inflation risk, Exchange rate risk

Abstract:
We examine the extent to which the consequences of insider trading for a financial market depend on the trading mechanism in an experimental multiple dealer asset market. In this market, five professional securities traders make a market in a single asset. In each trading round, one of the market makers receives inside information about the ex-post liquidation value of the asset. The insider thus competes on price directly with the other market makers. We create different trading mechanisms by varying the way quotes and trades are disclosed over the rounds. We find that efficiency is greatest, insider profits are lowest, and bid-ask spreads are smallest in the most transparent trading mechanism.

Abstract:
We show that inflation risk is priced in international asset returns. We analyze inflation risk in a framework that encompasses the International Capital Asset Pricing Model (ICAPM) of Adler and Dumas (1983). In contrast to the extant empirical literature on the ICAPM, we relax the assumption that inflation rates are constant. We estimate and test a conditional version of the model for the G5 countries (France, Germany, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S.) over the period 1975-1998 and find evidence of statistically and economically significant prices of inflation risk (in addition to priced nominal exchange rate risk). Our results imply a rejection of the restrictions imposed by the ICAPM. In an extension of our analysis to 2003, we show that even after the termination of nominal exchange rate fluctuations in the euro area in 1999, differences in inflation rates across countries entail non-trivial real exchange rate risk premia.

International asset pricing, Inflation risk, Exchange rate risk

Abstract:
We investigate how competitive behavior affects the capital structure of a firm. Theory predicts that the impact of different types of output market uncertainty (in particular, unanticipated shocks in demand and costs) on a firm’s leverage depends on the type of competition in an industry. We test these predictions in a sample of U.S. manufacturing firms by classifying firms into Cournot competition (strategic substitutes), and Bertrand competition (strategic complements). We show that demand uncertainty is positively related to leverage for firms in both the Cournot and the Bertrand sample. Cost uncertainty has a significantly positive impact on the leverage of Cournot firms, but plays a negligible role for Bertrand firms. Our results support the strategic use of debt and highlight the role of firms’ competitive behavior in the product market in their capital structure decisions.

Strategic debt, Cournot competition, Bertrand competition, demand and cost uncertainty, leverage

Abstract:
This paper analyzes the properties of multivariate tests of purchasing power parity (PPP) that fail to take heterogeneity in the speed of mean reversion across real exchange rates into account. We compare the performance of homogeneous and heterogeneous unit root testing methodologies. The recent literature has successfully contested several severe restrictions on the structure of the model, but the assumption of homogeneous mean reversion is still widely used and its consequences are virtually unexplored. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we uncover important adverse properties of the methodology that relies on homogeneous estimation and testing. More specifically, power functions are low and assume irregular shapes. Furthermore, homogeneous estimates of the mean reversion parameters exhibit potentially large biases. This can have a dramatic impact on inferences made on the validity of the PPP hypothesis. Our findings highlight the importance of allowing for heterogeneous estimation when testing for a unit root in panels of real exchange rates.

Purchasing power parity, real exchange rates, panel models, unit root tests, heterogeneity

Abstract:
This paper analyzes the properties of multivariate tests of purchasing power parity (PPP) that fail to take heterogeneity in the speed of mean reversion across real exchange rates into account. We compare the performance of homogeneous and heterogeneous unit root testing methodologies. The recent literature has successfully contested several severe restrictions on the structure of the model, but the assumption of homogeneous mean reversion is still widely used and its consequences are virtually unexplored. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we uncover important adverse properties of the methodology that relies on homogeneous estimation and testing. More specifically, power functions are low and assume irregular shapes. Furthermore, homogeneous estimates of the mean reversion parameters exhibit potentially large biases. This can have a dramatic impact on inferences made on the validity of the PPP hypothesis. Our findings highlight the importance of allowing for heterogeneous estimation when testing for a unit root in panels of real exchange rates.

Purchasing Power Parity, Real Exchange Rates, Panel Models, Unit Root Tests, Heterogeneity

Abstract:
This Paper analyses to what extent international and domestic asset pricing models lead to a different estimates of the cost of capital for an individual firm. We distinguish between (i) the multifactor ICAPM of Solnik (1983) and Sercu (1980) including both the global market portfolio and exchange rate risk premiums, and (ii) the single factor domestic CAPM. We test for the significance of the cost of capital differential in a sample of 3,293 stocks from nine countries in the period 1980-99. We find that the domestic CAPM yields a different estimate of the cost of capital from the multifactor ICAPM for only three percent of the firms in our sample. The difference amounts to on average 50 basis points for the US, 75 basis points for Germany and Japan and similar differentials for the other countries. We attribute these findings to strong country factors in individual stock returns.

Cost of capital, ICAPM, pricing error, exchange rate exposure

Abstract:
We investigate how competitive behavior affects the capital structure of a firm. Theory predicts that the impact of different types of output market uncertainty (in particular, unanticipated shocks in demand and costs) on a firm’s leverage depends on the type of competition in an industry. We test these predictions in a sample of U.S. manufacturing firms by classifying firms into Cournot competition (strategic substitutes), and Bertrand competition (strategic complements). We show that demand uncertainty is positively related to leverage for firms in both the Cournot and the Bertrand sample. Cost uncertainty has a significantly positive impact on the leverage of Cournot firms, but plays a negligible role for Bertrand firms. Our results support the strategic use of debt and highlight the role of firms’ competitive behavior in the product market in their capital structure decisions.

Strategic debt, Cournot competition, Bertrand competition, demand and cost uncertainty, leverage

Abstract:
This paper analyses the cost of capital of firms with foreign equity listings. Our purpose is to shed light on the question whether international and domestic asset pricing models yield a different estimate of the cost of capital for crosslisted stocks. We distinguish between (i) the multifactor ICAPM of Solnik (1979) and Sercu (1980) including both the global market portfolio and exchange rate risk premia and (ii) the single factor domestic CAPM. We test for the significance of the cost of capital differential in a sample of 336 cross-listed stocks from nine countries in the period 1980-99. Our hypothesis is that the cost of capital differential is substantial for firms with international listings, as these are often large multinationals with a strong international orientation. We find that the asset pricing models yield a significantly different estimate of the cost of capital for only 12% of the cross-listed companies. The size of the cost of capital differential is around 50 basis points for the US, 80 basis points for the UK and 100 basis points for France.

Abstract:
This study investigates whether corporate real estate ownership is a trigger for takeovers. The empirical analysis is based on a sample covering 225 takeovers in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom between 1992 and 2003. Using a multivariate probit model that controls for various financial firm characteristics, we find that the role of corporate real estate in takeovers depends on the nature of the takeover, the industry, the period, and the country. The presence of corporate real estate is a significantly positive predictor for takeovers within the same industry. Companies that have been taken over appear to have been reducing their real estate holdings prior to the takeover, which would suggest a financial distress situation.

corporate real estate, firm characteristics

Abstract:
This paper analyses the properties of multivariate tests of purchasing power parity (PPP) that fail to take heterogeneity in the speed of mean reversion across real exchange rates into account. We compare the performance of homogeneous and heterogeneous unit root testing methodologies. The recent literature has successfully contested several severe restrictions on the structure of the model, but the assumption of homogeneous mean reversion is still widely used and its consequences are virtually unexplored. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we uncover important adverse properties of the methodology that relies on homogeneous estimation and testing. More specifically, power functions are low and assume irregular shapes. Furthermore, homogeneous estimates of the mean reversion parameters exhibit potentially large biases. This can have a dramatic impact on inferences made on the validity of the PPP hypothesis. Our findings highlight the importance of allowing for heterogeneous estimation when testing for a unit root in panels of real exchange rates.

International economics, purchasing power parity, real exchange rates, panel models, unit root tests, heterogeneity

Abstract:
This paper evaluates investment strategies that exploit the deviations from theoretical price parity in a sample of 12 dual-listed companies (DLCs) in the period 1980-2002. We show that simple trading rules produce abnormal returns of up to almost 10% per annum adjusted for systematic risk, transaction costs, and margin requirements. However, arbitrageurs face uncertainty about the horizon at which prices will converge and deviations from parity are very volatile. As a result, DLC arbitrage is characterized by substantial idiosyncratic return volatility and a high incidence of large negative returns, which are likely to impede arbitrage.

F30, G14, G15

Abstract:
Analysis of 3,300 stocks from nine industrialized countries over the 1980-99 period indicates that whether the capital asset pricing model or some form of international CAPM is used makes little difference in the cost-of-capital estimate for most companies in most countries. The international CAPM yielded an estimate of the cost of equity capital that was significantly different from that of the domestic CAPM in only 4-5 percent of the sample companies. For the vast majority of companies, the domestic market factor is an adequate benchmark against which to measure an individual company's exposure to both global market and currency risk factors.

Equity Investments, fundamental analysis and valuation models, Corporate Finance, capital investment decisions