Peer Effects Among Sell-Side Analysts

Abstract:     
A large literature in social sciences documents that various economic decisions are affected by peers. In this paper we examine whether the performance and behaviour of sell-side analysts is affected by their colleagues. Our hypothesis is that higher peer ability will, ceteris paribus, contribute to the issuance of better forecasts. Our results support this hypothesis, and provide evidence consistent with the existence of peer effects in the domain of sell-side analysts.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 34

Keywords: Sell-side analysts, forecast accuracy, peer effects

JEL Classification: M41, C93, D83, D84, G1

working papers series