Board gender-balancing and insider trading performance
Tuck School of Business Working Paper No. 3475061
European Corporate Governance Institute – Finance Working Paper No. 783/2021
63 Pages Posted: 25 Oct 2019 Last revised: 17 May 2023
Date Written: May 16, 2023
Abstract
Using modern holdings-based performance measures, we test whether the dramatic female-director network expansion caused by Norway's board gender-balancing law has improved the information content and performance of trades by male versus female primary insiders. The potential for a network effect arises because industry peers share firm characteristics. We also examine gender-based insider purchase activity following the exogenous price-shocks during the financial crisis to draw inferences about potential differences in risk aversion. We identify a positive network-spurred information effect but no gender-based difference in either holdings-based performance or crisis-induced purchase activity.
Keywords: Board gender-balancing, director network, insider holdings, trading performance, risk aversion
JEL Classification: G14, M14
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation