Should Insider Trading be Prohibited when Share Repurchases are Allowed?

Abstract

This paper considers share repurchases as the way long-term shareholders preserve their ability to use corporate information for speculative purposes when insider trading regulation is enforced. This use of corporate information increases the adverse selection losses of short-term shareholders. Thus, buy-back programs reduce their incentive to invest in stocks that back the most productive technology, leading to a socially inefficient equilibrium. It follows that insider trading should not be banned when share repurchases are allowed.

Keywords: information trading, share repurchases, liquidity, disclosure

JEL Classification: D82, G35, G38