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Journal of Finance Vol. 62 No. 5 2007

Episodic Liquidity Crises: Cooperative and Predatory Trading

Bruce Carlin1; Miguel Sousa Lobo1; Siva Viswanathan1,2

1 University of California, Los Angeles · 2 University of California System

open access

Abstract

We describe how episodic illiquidity arises from a breakdown in cooperation between market participants. We first solve a one‐period trading game in continuous‐time, using an asset pricing equation that accounts for the price impact of trading. Then, in a multi‐period framework, we describe an equilibrium in which traders cooperate most of the time through repeated interaction, providing apparent liquidity to one another. Cooperation breaks down when the stakes are high, leading to predatory trading and episodic illiquidity. Equilibrium strategies that involve cooperation across markets lead to less frequent episodic illiquidity, but cause contagion when cooperation breaks down.

DOI
10.1111/j.1540-6261.2007.01274.x
Volume
62
Issue
5
Pages
2235-2274
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref openalex

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