Theory-Based Illiquidity and Asset Pricing

Tarun Chordia; Sahn-Wook Huh; Avanidhar Subrahmanyam

doi:10.1093/rfs/hhn121

Theory-Based Illiquidity and Asset Pricing

Tarun Chordia¹; Sahn-Wook Huh²; Avanidhar Subrahmanyam³

¹ Emory University · ² University at Buffalo, State University of New York · ³ Anderson School, University of California

Review of Financial Studies 2009

Many proxies of illiquidity have been used in the literature that relates illiquidity to asset prices. These proxies have been motivated from an empirical standpoint. In this study, we approach liquidity estimation from a theoretical perspective. Our method explicitly recognizes the analytic dependence of illiquidity on more primitive drivers such as trading activity and information asymmetry. More specifically, we estimate illiquidity using structural formulae in line with Kyle's (1985) lambda for a comprehensive sample of stocks. The empirical results provide evidence that theory-based estimates of illiquidity are priced in the cross-section of expected stock returns, even after accounting for risk factors, firm characteristics known to influence returns, and other illiquidity proxies prevalent in the literature.

DOI: 10.1093/rfs/hhn121
Volume: 22 (9)
Pages: 3629-3668
Language: en
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