Large US Sample Research Articles

Passenger Transport Energy Use in Ten Swedish Cities: Understanding the Differences through a Comparative Review

Energy conservation in the passenger transport sector of cities is an important policy matter. There is a long history of transport energy conservation, dating back to the first global oil crisis in 1973–1974, the importance and significance of which is explained briefly in this paper. Detailed empirical data on private and public passenger transport energy use are provided for Sweden’s ten largest cities in 2015 (Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö, Linköping, Helsingborg, Uppsala, Jönköping, Örebro, Västerås and Umeå), as well as Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, which is a benchmark small city, well-known globally for its sustainability credentials, including mobility. These data on per capita energy use in private and public transport, as well as consumption rates per vehicle kilometer and passenger kilometer for every mode in each Swedish city and Freiburg, are compared with each other and with comprehensive earlier data on a large sample of US, Australian, Canadian, European and Asian cities. Swedish cities are found to have similar levels of per capita car use and energy use in private transport as those found in other European cities, but in the context of significantly lower densities. Possible reasons for the observed Swedish patterns are explored through detailed data on their land use, public and private transport infrastructure, and service and mobility characteristics. Relative to their comparatively low densities, Swedish cities are found to have healthy levels of public transport provision, relatively good public transport usage and very healthy levels of walking and cycling, all of which help to contribute to their moderate car use and energy use.

Patient and Treatment Characteristics of a Large US Sample of Patients With Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) Initiating Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) Therapy (4442)

Patient and Treatment Characteristics of a Large US Sample of Patients With Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) Initiating Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) Therapy (4442)

Sistematic Review: Relationship between Pregnant Women Weight, Fetal Weight, Age at Pregnancy, Gravida Status with Birth Weight

Background :
 A person's nutritional condition is influenced by her nutritional status during the womb. In other words, the nutritional status of pregnant women is very influential on their own health and as a predictor of pregnancy outcomes for mothers and nutritional status of newborns (Senbanjo et al, 2013). This is due to fetal food intake can be through the umbilical cord that is connected to the mother's body (Indreswari et al, 2008).
 Various maternal and child health efforts are carried out to reduce mortality. One of them is obstructed fetal growth which must be known while still in utero so that the clinician can be more stringent in monitoring and planning the delivery method to reduce the risk of perinatal death.
 The increase in maternal weight during pregnancy is directly related to the weight of the baby and the risk of giving birth to low birth weight increases with a lack of weight gain during pregnancy. This shows a significant relationship between the increase in body weight of pregnant women and the weight of the baby born. (handayani, 2013). From several studies, it is still not known what factors most influence the birth weight of the baby, so in this study sistematic review was carried out as a strong first step for other researchers in developing this research.
 Method :
 A systematic review through journal reviews of the relationship between maternal weight, fetal weight, age at pregnancy, status of Gravida with birth weight
 Result and Discussion :
 Based on the analysis of the article it was found that the relationship between maternal weight, fetal weight, gestational age, gravida status and birth weight.
 Several studies have reported an increased risk of low birth weight (LBW) among offspring (generally defined as women <20 years). The number of births for women 35 years and over is increasing in both high-income countries and middle-income countries. Several mechanisms have been suggested to explain this. Biological mechanisms for increasing infant birth Low birth weight (LBW) in teenage mothers <20 years can be explained as follows. Blood circulation to the cervix and also to the uterus in adolescents is still not perfect so this can interfere with the process of channeling nutrients from the mother to the fetus she contains. Nutrition of pregnant adolescents also plays a role because adolescents still need nutrients to be shared with the fetus they contain compared to adult pregnant women who do not need nutrients for growth (Johanes, 2009 in Rahardjo et al, 2011).
 Teenage mothers are inherently at risk for birth outcomes that are compromised because biological factors are considered. A large US sample shows that unfavorable birth outcomes for adolescent mothers compared to older mothers occur at several levels due to biological factors (Fraser, Brockert, & Ward, 1995; Chen, et al., 2007). However, additional research shows that this difference does not exist among African-American women because of higher average exposure to social and environmental losses compared to whites (Geronimus, 1987; 1996). This explanation shows that unfavorable birth outcomes among teens compared to older mothers are the norm, from which African American mothers deviate as a result of lower socioeconomic status (SES). The role of social loss in understanding the risks of compromised young mothers from birth outcomes is examined, especially those related to the selection of disadvantaged teenagers to give birth to children. Thus, the way the age of young mothers is associated with unfavorable birth outcomes is considered, both cross and in racial / ethnic groups
 Conclusion : 
 This study has not been able to find a relationship between the weight gain of pregnant women on the weight of the baby born. According to assumptions, this happens because there are still other factors that are not yet known exactly where these factors can affect the weight of the baby born.

Disappearing investment‐cash flow sensitivities: Earnings have not become a worse proxy for cash flow

AbstractAccording to a recent conjecture in the literature, earnings have become a poorer proxy for cash flow from operations over time. We find that since 1988, when cash flow statements started to be consistently reported in Compustat, the cash effectiveness of earnings has actually increased for a large sample of US manufacturing firms. This occurs despite the introduction of fair value accounting and increasing accounting accruals during the last three decades. Also contrary to the conjecture, using more comprehensive measures of cash flow does not restore the investment‐cash flow sensitivity, which continues to be around 0.05 in more recent periods.

FACETS OF CLOSE, ROMANTIC, AND INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS IN LATER LIFE

Research on the role of close social relationships for physical health and well-being in later life has received increased attention over the past decades. Yet, we are still only beginning to understand potentially underlying mechanisms such as joint goals and affectionate touch. Likewise, we also know little about the relevance of particular social facets such as the role of friends and the nature of sexuality. In this symposium, we have compiled four empirical projects that showcase current and future endeavors to address some of these long-standing questions. Ungar et al. use dyadic data from older couples to examine how shared goals with the partners and positive illusions about these joint goals relate to goal progress and relationship satisfaction. Zhaoyang and Martire analyze long-term longitudinal dyadic data from older couples to examine if and how the frequency of affectionate touch between partners predicts physical health, well-being, and relationship satisfaction five years later. Fiori et al. make use of three-wave longitudinal data from a large and representative US sample to examine the unique roles that close social ties and weaker social ties have independently of one another for age-related changes in two central aspects of affective experience. Kolodziejczak et al. use time-lag data from two cohorts of adults in late midlife to capture historical changes in the perceived importance of sexuality and the evaluation of one’s sex life. Karen Rook will integrate the insights gained from these four papers, discuss their potential and limitations, and consider directions for future research.

Perceived need and availability of psychosocial interventions across buprenorphine prescriber specialties

IntroductionPsychosocial interventions are often recommended as part of buprenorphine treatment for patients with opioid use disorder, but little is known about prescriber perspectives on their use and how this varies across buprenorphine prescriber specialties. MethodsA large US sample of physicians actively prescribing buprenorphine (n = 1174) was surveyed from July 2014 to January 2017. Analyses examined prescriber characteristics and their perceptions and use of psychosocial interventions across three groups of physicians: primary care providers (PCPs), addiction physicians/psychiatrists, and other physicians. ResultsAcross all prescribers, 93.3% (n = 1061) report most patients would benefit from formal counseling during buprenorphine treatment while only 36.4% (n = 414) believe there are adequate number of counselors in their communities. Among addiction physicians/psychiatrists, 75.9% (n = 416) report their treatment settings have the resources to provide psychiatric services to patients with complex psychiatric problems compared to 29.1% (n = 130) of PCPs and 29.6% (n = 39, p < .001) of other physicians. Addiction physicians/psychiatrists report a higher percentage of patients receive counseling from clinicians in their practice while PCPs report a higher percentage of patients receive counseling from external providers. ConclusionsThe majority of prescribers believe patients receiving buprenorphine would benefit from psychosocial interventions and there is variation in how these services are delivered. However, many prescribers, especially those without addiction or psychiatry backgrounds, report their settings do not have adequate psychosocial treatment resources for patients with complex psychosocial needs. Future work developing novel models of psychosocial interventions may be helpful to support prescribers to effectively treat complex patients with opioid use disorders.

Debt maturity and corporate R&amp;amp;D investment – the empirical study of US listed firms

This study investigates the relationships between debt maturity structure and corporation R&amp;amp;amp;D investment. Using a large sample of US listed firms over the period of 1995 to 2015, it was found that the use of bank debt positively influences R&amp;amp;amp;D investment, whereas the use of public debt exerts a negative impact. However, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) mitigates the information asymmetry such that the advantages of private information from banks shrunk. As a result, public debtholders benefit more from the SOX and turn out to be positively influenced by the R&amp;amp;amp;D investment after SOX. Moreover, bank debt impact on R&amp;amp;amp;D spending reduces over the post-SOX. The results also find that the SOX influences the debt maturity on corporate R&amp;amp;amp;D investment only for large corporations, the effects remain unchanged for small businesses.

Readability of Narrative Disclosures in 10-K Reports: Does Managerial Ability Matter?

This study examines the association between managerial ability and the readability of narrative disclosures in 10-K reports. Using a large US sample from 1994 to 2015, we find that managerial ability is significantly positively associated with the readability of narrative disclosures in 10-K reports. We also find that this association is more pronounced for firms with high levels of profitability. In addition, firms’ financial performance mediates the association between managerial ability and the readability of 10-K reports. Further analysis shows that the association was more pronounced before the implementation of the plain English disclosure rules. These results are robust to alternative specifications of managerial ability, 10-K report readability, and the endogeneity concern. Overall, findings from this study suggest that managerial ability matters for improving the readability of corporate disclosures.

Christian Religiosity and Corporate Community Involvement

ABSTRACT:We examine whether religion influences company decisions related to corporate community involvement (CCI). Employing a large US sample, we show that the CCI initiatives of a company are positively associated with the level of Christian religiosity present in the region within which that company’s headquarters is located. This association persists even after we control for a wide range of firm characteristics and after we subject our results to several econometric tests. These results support our religious morality hypothesis which holds that companies headquartered in regions with higher levels of Christian religiosity will engage in more CCI initiatives. We also find that while Catholic and mainline Protestant religiosity have a positive influence on firms’ CCI initiatives, evangelical Protestant religiosity does not. This supports our differentiated responses hypothesis which holds that institutional differences among religious groups will produce different effects on companies’ CCI. This hypothesis is based on institutional theory.

Financial Statement Comparability and Idiosyncratic Return Volatility

AbstractThis study examines the association between financial statement comparability and idiosyncratic return volatility (IRV). A greater degree of comparability lowers information acquisition costs, reduces the uncertainties associated with performance evaluation, and increases the overall quantity and quality of information available to corporate outsiders, which, in turn, helps investors to understand and evaluate the cash flow and performance of firms more accurately. Therefore, we hypothesize a negative association between financial statement comparability and IRV. Using a large US sample from 1981 to 2013, we show that financial statement comparability is associated with lower level of IRV significantly. We also find this association to be more pronounced in a poor information environment. This study contributes to the emerging research that stresses the benefits of financial statement comparability.

Association between physical exercise and mental health in 1·2 million individuals in the USA between 2011 and 2015: a cross-sectional study

Exercise is known to be associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes, but its association with mental health remains unclear. We aimed to examine the association between exercise and mental health burden in a large sample, and to better understand the influence of exercise type, frequency, duration, and intensity. In this cross-sectional study, we analysed data from 1 237 194 people aged 18 years or older in the USA from the 2011, 2013, and 2015 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System survey. We compared the number of days of bad self-reported mental health between individuals who exercised and those who did not, using an exact non-parametric matching procedure to balance the two groups in terms of age, race, gender, marital status, income, education level, body-mass index category, self-reported physical health, and previous diagnosis of depression. We examined the effects of exercise type, duration, frequency, and intensity using regression methods adjusted for potential confounders, and did multiple sensitivity analyses. Individuals who exercised had 1·49 (43·2%) fewer days of poor mental health in the past month than individuals who did not exercise but were otherwise matched for several physical and sociodemographic characteristics (W=7·42 × 1010, p<2·2 × 10-16). All exercise types were associated with a lower mental health burden (minimum reduction of 11·8% and maximum reduction of 22·3%) than not exercising (p<2·2 × 10-16 for all exercise types). The largest associations were seen for popular team sports (22·3% lower), cycling (21·6% lower), and aerobic and gym activities (20·1% lower), as well as durations of 45 min and frequencies of three to five times per week. In a large US sample, physical exercise was significantly and meaningfully associated with self-reported mental health burden in the past month. More exercise was not always better. Differences as a function of exercise were large relative to other demographic variables such as education and income. Specific types, durations, and frequencies of exercise might be more effective clinical targets than others for reducing mental health burden, and merit interventional study. Cloud computing resources were provided by Microsoft.

Cigarette smoking duration mediates the association between future thinking and norepinephrine level

Fixating on the present moment rather than considering future consequences of behavior is considered to be a hallmark of drug addiction. As an example, cigarette smokers devalue delayed consequences to a greater extent than nonsmokers, and former smokers devalue delayed consequences more than nonsmokers, but less than current smokers. Further, cigarette smokers have higher norepinephrine levels than nonsmokers, which is indicative of poor future health outcomes. It is unclear how duration of cigarette smoking may impact these associations. The current secondary analysis of publicly available data investigated whether extent of future thinking is associated with smoking duration, as well as norepinephrine level, in a large national US sample (N = 985) of current, former, and never smokers. Individuals scoring lower on future thinking tended to smoke for longer durations and had higher norepinephrine levels relative to individuals scoring higher on future thinking. In addition, duration of cigarette abstinence interacted significantly with future thinking and smoking duration for former smokers. Specifically, the mediation relationship between future thinking, smoking duration, and norepinephrine level for former smokers was strongest at shorter durations of cigarette abstinence and decreased as a function of increasing duration of cigarette abstinence. Overall, results from this study suggest the potential importance of implementing smoking cessation treatments as early as possible for smokers and support future thinking as a potential therapeutic target for smoking cessation treatment.

Associations between community programmes and policies and children's physical activity: the Healthy Communities Study.

Community initiatives to promote physical activity in children are common, but evidence supporting their effectiveness is limited. The objective of this study is to examine the relationships between community programmes and policies and children's physical activity in a large and diverse sample of US communities. Programmes and policies to promote children's physical activity were assessed in 130 communities by key informant interviews, and physical activity behaviours were measured by self-report and parental report in samples of children in each community (total n=5138). Associations between composite indices of community programmes and policies and indicators of total and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were examined without and with adjustment for demographic factors. An index reflecting the 6-year history of the number of behaviour change strategies used in community programmes and policies was positively associated with children's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. This association was attenuated with adjustment for demographic factors. Effect modification analyses found that the association was positive among non-Hispanic children but was negative for Hispanic children. Community initiatives to promote physical activity in children were positively associated with children's physical activity in non-Hispanic children. Such initiatives were negatively associated with physical activity in Hispanic children, suggesting that future research should consider unique cultural factors when designing community initiatives to promote activity in this population sub-group.

Abstract 009: Incidence of Hypertension among Diverse US Hispanics/Latinos: Findings from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

Introduction: Hypertension (HTN) is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the US. Yet, among diverse US Hispanics/Latinos, one of the fastest growing ethnic minority populations in the US, incident rates of HTN are currently unknown. Objectives: To determine rates of incident HTN over six years among diverse US Hispanics/Latinos and evaluate whether rates differed by Hispanic/Latino background. Methods: The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos is an ongoing prospective population-based study of 16,415 diverse Hispanics/Latinos, ages 18-74 years, from four US communities sampled through a stratified multi-stage area probability design. Baseline examination was conducted in 2008-2011. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), as the average of three seated measurements, was measured at baseline and at an ongoing second visit (2014-2017). At each visit, HTN was defined as systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg, diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg, or use of anti HTN medication. This analysis includes 7,258 adults who were free of HTN at baseline and attended the second study visit by August, 2 nd , 2017. Age adjusted, sex stratified, HTN incidence rates (IR) were calculated in person-years (PY) by Hispanic/Latino background. All analyses were weighted by nonresponse adjusted, trimmed, and calibrated sampling weights and took into account the complex survey design. Results: At baseline, age distributions were similar for men and women with: 40% age 18-34, 38% age 35-49, and 22% age 50 - 74; mean follow-up time was 5.7 years. Among 2,694 men, a total of 539 developed HTN for an overall age-adjusted IR of 25.7/1,000PY (95% CI: 22.8, 28.9). Among men, compared with Mexican background (IR: 20.5, 95% CI: 16.6, 25.2), the age adjusted IR of HTN per 1,000 PY was higher among Hispanics/Latinos of Dominican (IR: 39.2, 95% CI: 28.4, 54.0; p&lt;0.01) and Cuban (IR: 30.6, 95% CI: 25.2, 37.2; p&lt;0.01) background, but comparable among Central American (IR: 19.7, 95% CI: 14.1, 27.6; p=0.86), Puerto Rican (IR: 28.3, 95% CI: 20.5, 39.0; p=0.09), and South American (IR: 18.8, 95% CI: 11.5, 30.7; p=0.75) background. Among 4,564 women, a total of 855 developed HTN for an overall age-adjusted IR of 25.6/1,000PY (95% CI: 23.1, 28.3). Among women, compared with Mexican background (IR: 20.1, 95% CI: 17.0, 23.8), the age adjusted IR of HTN per 1,000 PY was higher among Hispanic/Latinos of Dominican (IR: 32.7, 95% CI: 24.3, 44.1; p&lt;0.01), Cuban (IR: 26.8, 95% CI: 21.3, 33.6; p&lt;0.05), and Puerto Rican (IR: 35.1, 95% CI: 27.4, 45.1; p&lt;0.01) background, and comparable among Central American (IR: 23.2, 95% CI: 18.4, 29.3; p=0.31) and South American (IR: 24.3, 95% CI: 18.5, 31.8; p=0.24) background. Conclusions: Among a large sample of US Hispanics/Latinos free of HTN, age adjusted IRs of hypertension differed substantially by Hispanic/Latino background, being highest among those of Caribbean background.

Readability of Narrative Disclosures in 10-K Reports: Does Managerial Ability Matter?

This study examines the association between managerial ability and the readability of narrative disclosures in 10-K reports. Using a large US sample from 1994 to 2015, we find that managerial ability is significantly positively associated with the readability of narrative disclosures in 10-K reports. We also find that this association is more pronounced for firms with a higher level of profitability. An additional analysis reveals that firms’ financial performance mediates the association between managerial ability and the readability of 10-K reports. Finally, we show that the association between managerial ability and the readability of 10-K reports is more pronounced before the implementation of the plain English disclosure rules. These results are robust to alternative specifications of managerial ability, 10-K reports’ readability, and the endogeneity concern. Our findings contribute to the emerging research that stresses the importance of 10-K reports’ readability for improving corporate transparency.

Financial statement comparability and corporate cash holdings

This study examines the impact of financial statement comparability on corporate cash holdings. A greater degree of comparability lowers information acquisition costs, reduces the uncertainties associated with performance evaluation, and increases the overall quantity and quality of information available to corporate outsiders which, in turn, helps to ease the external financing constraints of the firm. Using a large US sample from 1981 to 2013, we find consistent evidence that financial statement comparability significantly reduces cash holdings of the firm. We also find that this relation is mediated by financing constraints, financial reporting quality and corporate governance. These findings are robust to alternative specification of comparability, cash holdings and to the alternative regression specifications and endogeneity tests. Our study contributes to the emerging research that stresses the importance of financial statement comparability.

Corporate Social Responsibility, Religion, and Firm Risk

AbstractIn this article, we examine the empirical influence of the combined effect of Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the degree of local community religiosity on firm risk by investigating their unidirectional and endogenous effects. Employing a large US sample, we find an inverse association between CSR–religiosity and firm risk after controlling for various firm characteristics. Also, after mitigating endogeneity bias, we still find a negative association between CSR–local community religiosity and firm risk. We interpret these results to support the social license to operate (SLO) explanation: the lower the level of firm risk, the higher the level of SLO.

Abstract P269: Self-reported Dietary Sodium Intake and Six-year Change in Systolic Blood Pressure Among Diverse US Hispanics/Latinos: Preliminary Longitudinal Results From the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

Introduction: Excess sodium intake is common across all age, sex, racial, and ethnic groups in the US and remains an important modifiable risk factor for elevated blood pressure (BP), a leading contributor to cardiovascular disease. While multiple 24 -hour urinary measures of sodium excretion are the preferred objective measure of sodium intake, multiple standardized, interviewer-administered 24 hour dietary recalls offer a useful surrogate measure for longitudinal group comparisons, especially unique among US Hispanics/Latinos of diverse backgrounds. Objectives: To assess whether dietary sodium intake was associated with change in systolic blood pressure (SBP) over six years, overall and by use of BP lowering medication. Methods: The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos is an ongoing prospective population-based study of 16,415 diverse Hispanics/Latinos aged 18-74 yr from four US communities. Visit 1 (baseline) was conducted in 2008-2011, and visit 2 is currently ongoing (2014-2017). Dietary sodium intake was averaged from two interviewer-administered 24-hour diet recalls collected at visit 1. Likewise, SBP was the average from three seated measurements in visit 1 and about six years later in visit 2. Change in SBP from visit 1 to visit 2 was calculated. Using linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, study site, follow-up years, Hispanic/Latino background, education, income, nativity, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, dyslipidemia, family history of CVD, BMI, smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, and energy intake, we estimated the association of a 500 mg/day increment of sodium intake on change in SBP. Models were further stratified by self-reported use of BP lowering medication at visit 2. Results: The sample includes 7,904 adults who attended visit 2 by September 2016; average follow-up time was 5.8 years (SE: 0.02). At visit 1 mean age was 44.5 years (SE: 0.05); 57% were female (SE: 0.86). Overall, mean sodium intake was 3171 mg/day (SE: 33); a 500 mg/day higher sodium intake was associated with a 0.33 mmHg increase in SBP (95% CI: 0.07, 0.60). Among individuals not reporting taking BP lowering medication, mean sodium was 3,181 (SE: 34) and a 500 mg higher sodium intake was associated with a non-significant 0.29 mmHg increase in SBP (95% CI: -0.00, 0.58). Among individuals on BP lowering medication, mean sodium intake was 2,966 (SE: 50) and a 500 mg higher sodium intake was significantly associated with a 0.61 mmHg increase in SBP (95% CI: 0.11, 1.11). Conclusions: Among a large sample of diverse US Hispanics/Latinos, higher sodium intake was associated with small SBP increases in approximately six years. The effect of sodium on elevated SBP was stronger among individuals on BP lowering medications.

Differences in Orgasm Frequency Among Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Heterosexual Men and Women in a U.S. National Sample.

There is a notable gap between heterosexual men and women in frequency of orgasm during sex. Little is known, however, about sexual orientation differences in orgasm frequency. We examined how over 30 different traits or behaviors were associated with frequency of orgasm when sexually intimate during the past month. We analyzed a large US sample of adults (N=52,588) who identified as heterosexual men (n=26,032), gay men (n=452), bisexual men (n=550), lesbian women (n=340), bisexual women (n=1112), and heterosexual women (n=24,102). Heterosexual men were most likely to say they usually-always orgasmed when sexually intimate (95%), followed by gay men (89%), bisexual men (88%), lesbian women (86%), bisexual women (66%), and heterosexual women (65%). Compared to women who orgasmed less frequently, women who orgasmed more frequently were more likely to: receive more oral sex, have longer duration of last sex, be more satisfied with their relationship, ask for what they want in bed, praise their partner for something they did in bed, call/email to tease about doing something sexual, wear sexy lingerie, try new sexual positions, anal stimulation, act out fantasies, incorporate sexy talk, and express love during sex. Women were more likely to orgasm if their last sexual encounter included deep kissing, manual genital stimulation, and/or oral sex in addition to vaginal intercourse. We consider sociocultural and evolutionary explanations for these orgasm gaps. The results suggest a variety of behaviors couples can try to increase orgasm frequency.

Cross-sectional variation of market efficiency

PurposeThis paper aims to provide evidence that market efficiency varies greatly across individual stock, and across market exchanges.Design/methodology/approachThree approaches, partial adjustment model, Dimson beta model and variance ratio test, are used on a large sample of US stocks.FindingsThis paper finds prices are closer to random walk benchmarks (i.e. more efficient) for stocks with better liquidity provision, frequent trading, greater return volatility, higher prices, larger market capitalizations and smaller trade sizes. These findings suggest that liquidity stimulates arbitrage activity, which, in turn, enhances market efficiency. Market efficiency also varies with information environment. The results show that stocks with greater information-based trading exhibit higher level of efficiency. Finally, market structure influences market efficiency. New York Stock Exchange stocks achieve higher level of efficiency than NASDAQ stocks do. The empirical results are robust and not driven by differences in stock attributes between the two markets.Research limitations/implicationsOverall, these results indicate that liquidity provision, stock attributes and market structure exert a significant impact on the realization of market efficiency.Practical implicationsIn addition, this paper is also relevant to both stock exchanges facing increased competition and to market regulators.Originality/valuePrior studies offer little evidence on the speed at which new information is impounded into the price. There is also limited evidence regarding how liquidity provision and market structure affect market efficiency. Using a transformation of the speed of price adjustment and other measurements as proxies for individual stock efficiency, this study may shed further lights on our understanding of market efficiency.