Broadband Internet and the Stock Market Investments of Individual Investors

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hvide, Hans k.; Meling, Tom G.; Mogstad, Magne; Vestad, Ola L.
• 署名单位: University of Bergen; University System of Ohio; Ohio State University; University of Chicago; Statistics Norway; National Bureau of Economic Research; IFS; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK; University of Aberdeen
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1082
• DOI: 10.1111/jofi.13335
• 发表日期: 2024
• 页码: 2163-2194
• 关键词: participation

摘要

We study the effects of broadband internet use on the investment decisions of individual investors. A public program in Norway provides plausibly exogenous variation in internet use. Our instrumental variables estimates show that internet use causes a substantial increase in stock market participation, driven primarily by increased fund ownership. Existing investors tilt their portfolios toward funds, thereby obtaining more diversified portfolios and higher Sharpe ratios, and do not increase their trading activity in stocks. Overall, access to high-speed internet spurs a democratization of finance, with individuals making investment decisions that are more in line with the advice from portfolio theory.