Projects

Agenda

Research consistently underscores gender/sex disparities in financial decision-making, reporting that women are more risk-averse than men and more generally documenting that gender/sex plays a significant role in influencing financial behaviors.

This project addresses these disparities through seven interconnected studies that explore the nuanced relationship between gender/sex and financial behavior. The studies include a) the development of a new gender scale, b) a meta-analytic review, and c) five online experiments. Through a multifaceted approach, this project aims to shed light on the complex interplay between gender/sex and financial behavior, offering a methodologically robust understanding of the drivers of financial decision-making across gender/sex groups.

Project members

• Helena Fornwagner (project member, University of Exeter)
• Berivan Gürel (project member, University of Graz)
• Felix Holzmeister (project member, University of Innsbruck)
• Stefan Palan (principal investigator, project member, University of Graz)
• Julia Rose (project member, University of Rotterdam)

Project updates

• 2024-05-07 - Data gathering for the development of a multi-dimensional gender inventory completed.
• 2024-03-01 - Grant proposal submitted to Austrian Science Fund (FWF).
• 2024-02-01 - Ethics Approval Application submitted to the Ethics Commission at the University of Graz for Study 1 "The development of a new gender scale".
• 2024-01-17 - Berivan Gürel presents at the Research Day of the School of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, University of Graz.
• 2023-12-15 - Berivan Gürel is granted the Reinhard Selten Stipendium of the Gesellschaft für Experimentelle Wirtschaftsforschung, Germany.
• 2023-11-09 - Felix Holzmeister (University of Innsbruck) and Julia Rose (Erasmus University Rotterdam) join the project team.
• 2023-07-24 - Helena Fornwagner (University of Exeter) joins the project team.
• 2023-06-28 - Berivan Gürel presents at the FiRe Research Day at the University of Graz.
• 2023-06-20 - Berivan Gürel is granted the dissertation scholarship, University of Graz
• 2023-04-25 - Stefan Palan and Berivan Gürel consult with Lisa Scheer (University of Graz) about measuring gender in finance.

Agenda

Large, internationally active banks play a special role in the (international) financial system because they are closely connected to their governments due to large sovereign bond holdings and because they transmit shocks easily from one country to another. This project focuses on several roles that internationally active banks may play in the financial system. First, sovereign rating downgrades are used to test whether banks spill over shocks from one country to another through their various types of foreign asset holdings, such as foreign sovereign debt holdings and foreign claims to banks. Second, the most recent COVID crisis is used to investigate how the change in banks' risk profile is moderated by their governments' creditworthiness due to the guarantee channel which is in place between banks and governments.

Project members

• Michael Kueschnig (project member, University of Graz)
• Andrea Schertler (principal investigator, University of Graz)
• Nils Moch (project member, University of Lüneburg)

Agenda

As part of an interdisciplinary research project led by the Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change the Institute identifies required actions that are essential for the financial system to support the low carbon transition of the Austrian economy. Based on the foundations of the 2018 EU Commission's Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth, comprising (i) the EU Taxonomy Regulation, (ii) a comprehensive disclosure regime for financial institutions and financial products, and (iii) a set of investment tools, including benchmarks, standards and labels that help financial market participants to align their investment strategies with the EU's climate and environmental goals, requirements for climate related disclosures of SMEs are specified and instruments and policies that enable enterprises to finance capital expenditures required to implement their transition strategies are analyzed.

Project members

• Michael Kueschnig (project member, University of Graz)
• Roland Mestel (principal investigator, University of Graz)

Agenda

This project studies cryptocurrencies as a new asset class and focuses on the different channels these currencies can be transferred (on-chain versus off-chain). The main research areas include: (i) Price efficiency and liquidity on cryptocurrency trading platforms, (ii) Microstructure of crypto-markets, (iii) Interdependences between on-chain and off-chain trading of cryptocurrencies.

Project members

• Alexander Brauneis (project member, Nottingham Trent University)
• Roland Mestel (principal investigator, University of Graz)
• Ryan Riordan (project member, LMU Munich School of Management, Queen's University)
• Erik Theissen (project member, University of Mannheim, University of Graz)

Agenda

Return and risk are two fundamental aspects in financial decision-making, yet while researchers in various fields have studied interactions between preferences and investment behavior, the link between the two, namely perceptions of risk and return, have received far less attention.

This project remedies this gap in the literature by studying the role of perception in finance, with a particular focus on risk perception by retail investors. It is the aim of the project team to provide contributions which have the potential to improve financial decision-making by retail investors and thus improve people's long-term finances.

Project members

• Felix Holzmeister (project member, University of Innsbruck)
• Christoph Huber (project member, Aalto University)
• Jürgen Huber (project member, University of Innsbruck)
• Stefan Palan (principal investigator, University of Graz)
• Stefan Zeisberger (project, member, Radboud University, University of Zurich)

Publications

Holzmeister, F., Huber, C., Palan, S., 2020, Handbook of Experimental Finance.
Huber, J., Palan, S., Zeisberger, S., 2019, Does Investor Risk Perception Drive Asset Prices in Markets? Experimental Evidence, Journal of Banking & Finance 108.

Project updates

2020-10-20 |"A Critical Perspective on the Conceptualization of Risk in Behavioral and Experimental Finance" published in the Handbook of Experimental Finance.(Working paper version)
2019-12-31 |"Does Investor Risk Perception Drive Asset Prices in Markets? Experimental Evidence" published in Journal of Banking and Finance.
2019-09-10 |"Does Investor Risk Perception Drive Asset Prices in Markets? Experimental Evidence" accepted by Journal of Banking and Finance.
2017-11-24 | Stefan Palan presents "Does Investor Risk Perception Drive Asset Prices in Markets? Experimental Evidence" at the Austrian Working Group on Banking and Finance workshop in Obergurgl.
2017-09-09 | Stefan Palan presents "Does Investor Risk Perception Drive Asset Prices in Markets? Experimental Evidence" at the Economic Science Association conference in Vienna.
2016-08-23 | First discussions about commencing experimental research into perception in finance.

Agenda

Stock prices tend to adjust slowly to the information contained in earnings announcements. After a positive (negative) earnings surprise (defined as the difference between actual and expected earnings), stock prices tend to drift upward (downward) for up to one year. This phenomenon is referred to as the post-earnings-announcement drift (PEAD).

This project's main contribution to research into PEAD is the use of laboratory experiments. In three separate papers, the project will investigate (1) the most prominent explanation from the literature for why PEAD occurs - earnings autocorrelation, (2) whether limits to arbitrage prevent the elimination of PEAD, and (3) how share prices adjust to the information contained in the announcements, and how institutional features of the market, details of trader behavior and the timing of the earnings announcement affect the adjustment of prices.

Funding

Funding source: Austrian Science Fund (FWF), project number P 32124-G27, Funding amount: € 159,590.34.

Project members

• Jürgen Brandner (PhD student, project member, University of Graz)
• Josef Fink (PhD student, former project member, University of Graz)
• Kerstin Mitterbacher (PhD student, project member, University of Graz)
• Stefan Palan (principal investigator, University of Graz)
• Marcel Pfandl (student assistant, University of Graz)
• Erik Theissen (project member, University of Graz, University of Mannheim)

Publications

Fink, J., Palan, S., Theissen, E., Forthcoming. Earnings Autocorrelation and the Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift - Experimental Evidence. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis.
Fink, J., 2021, A review of the Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance 29, 100446.

Working papers

Fink, J., Palan, S., Theissen, E., 2021. "Trading Frictions and the Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift", University of Graz, School of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, Working paper 2021-01.

Project updates

• 2023-05-25 | Submission of "Earnings Announcement Timing in Selected Equity Markets" to the first journal.
• 2023-04-28 | Submission of "Trading frictions and the post-earnings-announcement drift" to the first journal.
• 2023-04-21 | "Earnings Autocorrelation and the Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift - Experimental Evidence" accepted by the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis.
• 2022-10-27 | Submission of "Rock Around The Clock: Literature Review on Earnings Announcement Timing" to the first journal.
• 2021-09-29 | Stefan Palan presents "Earnings Autocorrelation and the Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift - Experimental Evidence", Department of Finance, Maastricht University.
• 2021-07-07 | Stefan Palan presents "Earnings Autocorrelation and the Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift - Experimental Evidence", ResearchDay, FinanceResearch Graz.
• 2021-06-17 | Erik Theissen presents "Earnings Autocorrelation and the Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift - Experimental Evidence", Department of Finance, University of Cologne.
• 2021-06-17 | Stefan Palan presents "Earnings Autocorrelation and the Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift - Experimental Evidence", Experimental Finance 2021, University of Innsbruck.
• 2021-06-17 | Stefan Palan presents "Earnings Autocorrelation and the Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift - Experimental Evidence", Department of Finance, University of Pisa.
• 2021-02-18 | Publication of working paper "Trading frictions and the post-earnings-announcement drift".
• 2021-02-01 | Marcel Pfandl joins the project team.
• 2021-01-13 | Project presentation at the Research Day of the School of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, University of Graz.
• 2020-12-13 | Publication of "A review of the Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift" in the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance.
• 2020-11-11 | Presentation of "Earnings Autocorrelation and the Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift - Experimental Evidence" in the Experimental Finance Workshop, Radboud University.
• 2020-11-01 | Kerstin Mitterbacher joins the project team.
• 2020-10-16 | Publication of working paper "Earnings Autocorrelation and the Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift - Experimental Evidence".
• 2020-06-29 | Josef Fink conducts first post-lockdown experiment at the University of Hamburg.
• 2020-05-05 | Jürgen Brandner joins the project team.
• 2019-12-12 | Josef Fink presents "Earnings Autocorrelation and the Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift", FiRe Research Day, Graz.
• 2019-11-11 | Stefan Palan presents "Earnings Autocorrelation and the Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift", Austrian Working Group on Banking and Finance, Vaduz, Liechtenstein.
• 2019-10-25 | Stefan Palan presents "Earnings Autocorrelation and the Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift", LFIN seminar, UC Louvain, Belgium.
• 2019-03-11 | Funding approved by Austrian Science Fund (FWF).
• 2018-08-14 | Grant proposal submitted to Austrian Science Fund (FWF).
• 2018-06-25 | Grant proposal denied by Austrian Science Fund (FWF).
• 2017-10-23 | Grant proposal submitted to Austrian Science Fund (FWF).
• 2017-08-01 | Master thesis of Adele Theiler approved.
• 2016-08-09 | Adele Theiler starts master thesis to study PEAD.
• 2015-08-21 | First discussions about commencing experimental research into PEAD.

Agenda

This project studies the way securities are actually traded on financial markets with a special focus on market liquidity and efficiency. The main research areas include: (i) An in-depth analysis of the liquidity of the Austrian stock market, based on "Finance Research Graz Data Services" (FiRe Graz DS),(ii) Algorithmic and high-frequency trading, (iii) Market reactions to news.

Funding

Funding source: Anniversary Fund of the Austrian National Bank (OeNB), project number 17789, Funding amount: € 105,000

Project members

• Roland Mestel (principal investigator, University of Graz)
• Viktoria Steffen (PhD student, project member, University of Graz)
• Erik Theissen (project member, University of Graz, University of Mannheim)
• Corinna Uhlenkamp (PhD student, project member, University of Graz)

Agenda

This project studies the impact of insider trading on markets. The topics under research include how insiders' presence and trading activity influence the efficiency of prices, the profitability of insiders' and non-insiders' investments, how insider regulation affects these relationships and how regulators can detect insiders.

Funding

Austrian National Bank (OeNB), project number 17794, Funding amount: € 147,000.

Project members

• Robert Merl (PhD student, former project member, University of Graz)
• Stefan Palan (project member, University of Graz)
• Dominik Schmidt (PhD student, project member, Management Center Innsbruck)
• Thomas Stöckl (principal investigator, Management Center Innsbruck)

Publications

Merl, R., Stöckl, T., Palan, S., Forthcoming. Insider trading regulation and shorting constraints. Evaluating the joint effects of two market interventions, Journal of Banking & Finance.

Stöckl, T., Palan, S., 2018. Catch me if you can. Can human observers identify insiders in asset markets?, Journal of Economic Psychology 67, 1-17.

Palan, S., Stöckl, T., 2017. When chasing the offender hurts the victim. The case of insider legislation, Journal of Financial Markets 35, 104-129.

Project updates

2022-03-24 | "Regulation of insider trading and short selling. Evaluating the joint effects of two market interventions." accepted by Journal of Banking and Finance.
2021-07-20 | Publication of working paper "Insider trading regulation and shorting constraints. Evaluating the joint effects of two market interventions."
2021-06-16 | Thomas Stöckl presents "Insider trading legislation and trader migration", Experimental Finance 2021, University of Innsbruck.
2021-06-16 | Dominik Schmid presents "Having a say on insider trading regulation. An experiment studying traders' choice of regulation.", Experimental Finance 2021, University of Innsbruck.
2020-11-26 | Dominik Schmidt presents "Insider trading legislation and trader migration", Austrian Working Group on Banking and Finance, Graz, Austria.
2018-07-05 | Funding approved by Austrian National Bank (OeNB).
2018-05-27 | "Catch me if you can. Can human observers identify insiders in asset markets?" published in Journal of Economic Psychology.
2018-04-23 | "Catch me if you can. Can human observers identify insiders in asset markets?" accepted by Journal of Economic Psychology.
2017-09-05 | "When chasing the offender hurts the victim: The case of insider regulation" published in Journal of Financial Markets.
2016-07-29 | "When chasing the offender hurts the victim: The case of insider regulation" accepted by Journal of Financial Markets.
2014-11-21 | Stefan Palan presents "When chasing the offender hurts the victim: Collateral damage from insider legislation", Austrian Working Group on Banking and Finance, BFI Vienna.
2014-09-18 | Thomas Stöckl presents "When chasing the offender hurts the victim: Collateral damage from insider legislation", research seminar, University of Sussex.
2014-09-16 | "When chasing the offender hurts the victim: Collateral damage from insider legislation" published in Working Paper Series of the School of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, University of Graz.
2014-06-24 | Thomas Stöckl presents "When chasing the offender harms the victim: Insider trading legislation and the risk of collateral damage", Experimental Finance 2014, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
2014-06-04 | Thomas Stöckl presents "When chasing the offender harms the victim: Insider trading legislation and the risk of collateral damage", research seminar, University of Mannheim, Germany.
2014-05-23 | Thomas Stöckl presents "When chasing the offender harms the victim: Insider trading legislation and the risk of collateral damage", research seminar, University of Vienna, Austria.
2014-05-15 | Thomas Stöckl presents "When chasing the offender harms the victim: Insider trading legislation and the risk of collateral damage", research seminar, University of Trento, Italy.
2014-03-28 | Thomas Stöckl presents "When chasing the offender harms the victim: Insider trading legislation and the risk of collateral damage", research seminar, University of Zurich, Switzerland.