Disaggregated financial statement information in an unregulated environment

Abstract

This paper examines whether disaggregated financial statement information during the late 1920's reduced information asymmetry. After controlling for firms endogenously selecting their level of disaggregation, I find that disaggregation reduced the information asymmetry between market participants and between the firm and outside investors. Disaggregators had lower bid-ask spreads and short sellers paid lower loan fees for borrowing disaggregators' stocks. In addition, disaggregators were more likely to raise capital in the following year. These results are consistent with firms using high-quality financial reporting to reduce information asymmetry even in the absence of regulation as a bonding mechanism.