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The Review of Asset Pricing Studies Vol. 15 No. 1 2025

The Cross-Section of Stock Returns Around the World in the Early Twentieth Century

Fabio Braggion1; Joost Driessen1; Lyndon Moore2

1 Tilburg University · 2 Monash University

open access

Abstract

We study nine equity markets between 1900 and 1925 to provide an out-of-sample test of some major asset pricing anomalies during a period in which anomalies had not been documented. We find strong evidence of momentum in almost every market. We find no evidence of long-term reversals, which, coupled with the limited presence of institutional investors, suggests that underreaction should be considered as a key aspect of behavioral theories of momentum. We also find evidence for the size effect, betting-against-beta, and the outperformance of low volatility stocks, whereas we find mixed evidence of short-term reversal.

DOI
10.1093/rapstu/raae014
Volume
15
Issue
1
Pages
46-73
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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