Got an email from a reporter this am, which asked:
I am currently working on an article about the latest insider probe the WSJ has been reporting. I am especially interested in the concern that scandals like the alleged insider rings will further erode trust in Wall Street – not only investor’s but also companies - and what implications this might have for the overall US economy.
I responded by pointing to something I wrote in Insider Trading, in III Encyclopedia of Law & Economics 772 (Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. 2000):
In the absence of a credible investor injury story, it is difficult to see why insider trading should undermine investor confidence in the integrity of the securities markets. As Bainbridge (1995, p.1241-42) observes, any anger investors feel over insider trading appears to arise mainly from envy of the insider’s greater access to information.
The loss of confidence argument is further undercut by the stock market’s performance since the insider trading scandals of the mid-1980s. The enormous publicity given those scandals put all investors on notice that insider trading is a common securities violation. If any investors believe that the SEC’s enforcement actions drove insider trading out of the markets, they are beyond mere legal help. At the same time, however, the years since the scandals have been one of the stock market’s most robust periods. One can but conclude that insider trading does not seriously threaten the confidence of investors in the securities markets.
Macey (1991, p. 44) contends that the experience of other countries confirms this conclusion. For example, Japan only recently began regulating insider trading and its rules are not enforced. The same appears to be true of India. Hong Kong has repealed its insider trading prohibition. Both have vigorous and highly liquid stock markets.
