INFORMATION ASYMMETRY in CAPITAL MARKET: WHAT, WHY and HOW
Puput Tri Komalasari, Moh. Nasih

Universitas Airlangga

Abstract

Information is a valuable commodity and resource to maximize the utility of economic agents. Information asymmetry occurs when there is an information gap among economic actors. Information asymmetry has received considerable attention in both accounting and finance literature. Basically, information asymmetry is not directly observable and therefore researchers use proxy variables. However, in so far there are no studies that have classified the proxies of information asymmetry based on its characteristics. Furthermore, market characteristics are often overlooked in choosing a proxy of information asymmetry. This paper attempts to partially address this gap in literature by classifying proxies of information asymmetry and reviewing proxies that more appropriate to be used in emerging market. This paper also discusses how information asymmetry takes place in capital market and why it is important in emerging capital market research. We pay more attention to emerging markets because information asymmetry is presumed resulting capital market collapse.

Keywords: adverse selection, capital market, emerging market, information asymmetry

Topic: Financial Management and Accounting