Product market competition and analyst forecasting activity: International evidence

In Mu Haw, Bingbing HU*, Jay Junghun Lee

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    36 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    In this study, we investigate how product market competition affects the extent of analyst following and the properties of analyst forecasts. Using a broad sample of firms from 37 countries over the 1990-2008 period, we find that firms that operate in more concentrated industries and with stronger pricing power are associated with greater analyst following, higher forecast accuracy, and lower forecast dispersion. Moreover, the effect of product market power on analyst following and forecast properties is more pronounced in countries with less effective competition laws and higher entry costs. These findings suggest that high industry concentration and a dominant market position enhance the earnings predictability of firms and lower their information uncertainty, and that country-level institutions that promote competition effectively constrain the power in product markets.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)48-60
    Number of pages13
    JournalJournal of Banking and Finance
    Volume56
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2015

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • Finance
    • Economics and Econometrics

    User-Defined Keywords

    • Analyst following
    • Competition laws
    • Forecast accuracy
    • Forecast dispersion
    • Product market competition

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