Stock market participation in the European Union

[摘要] ENGLISH SUMMARY : Understanding why most people shy away from stock market participation, both on individual and country level, is very important. Stock market participation explains consumptionsmoothing and this in turn can have a significant effect on household welfare. Literature has shown that welfare loss from withholding to invest in the stock market can be substantial. Furthermore, it has been estimated that limited stock market participation influences the distribution of wealth and wealth effects on consumption.A well-known phenomenon known as the stock market participation puzzle stems from the significance that most people do not invest in stocks despite the remarkable risk premium and gains from diversification involved.In this research, stock market articipation both on household- and country-level are investigated for most countries in the European Union. This is done by using the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS). Influencing factors such as behavioural aspects and household characteristics are investigated. This adds to the growing literature on stock market participation especially in the field of behavioural and household finance. In this research a wide range of variables are considered in order to try and explain the stock market participation puzzle. This takes most prior literature, that only focus on one determining factor, a step further.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University