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Journal of Financial Intermediation Vol. 11 No. 1 2002

Information Externalities and the Role of Underwriters in Primary Equity Markets

Lawrence M. Benveniste1; Walid Y. Busaba2; William J. Wilhelm3

1 University of Minnesota · 2 University of Arizona · 3 University of Oxford

Abstract

Firms that go public produce information that influences the production decisions of their rivals as well as their own production decisions. If information-production costs are borne primarily by pioneering firms, market failures can occur in which both pioneers and followers remain private and make ill-informed investment decisions. Solving this coordination problem requires a transfer between pioneers and followers that leads to a more equitable distribution of information-production costs. We contend that investment banks can enforce such a transfer by effectively bundling IPOs within an industry. This suggests an explanation for clustering of IPOs through time and within industries. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: G24, G28, K32.

DOI
10.1006/jfin.2000.0310
Volume
11
Issue
1
Pages
61-86
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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