An Investigation of the Impact of the 2008 Financial Crisis and Stock Market Automation on Market Efficiency: A Case for the Botswana Stock Exchange
Master Thesis
2018
Permanent link to this Item
Authors
Supervisors
Journal Title
Link to Journal
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Publisher
University of Cape Town
Department
Faculty
License
Series
Abstract
This study investigates the effects of the 2008 financial crisis and stock market automation on the efficiency of the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE). It makes use of the BSE All Share Index (ALSI) logged returns covering the time period 2005 – 2017. In addition, four distinct tests are employed to test for the change in market efficiency over time: runs test, unit root test, serial correlations test and variance ratio test. The study found resounding evidence to conclude that the 2008 financial crisis and stock market automation had a significant positive effect on the efficiency of the BSE. In addition, the BSE went from being inefficient to weak-form efficient due to the policies implemented by the government of Botswana and financial regulators as a direct reaction to the 2008 financial crisis, plus the continuous improvement of the Automated Trading System (ATS). To the author’s knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to test the impact of the 2008 financial crisis and automation of the trading system on the weak-form market efficiency of the BSE. As a result, this study provides an original and unique testimony on the effects of the 2008 financial crisis and the ATS on the efficiency of the Botswana Stock Exchange. Moreover, it offers an updated position of the BSE’s efficiency status following the recent developments to ensure that relevant legislation and effective and efficient trading systems are in place.
Description
Keywords
Reference:
Ambalal, R. 2018. An Investigation of the Impact of the 2008 Financial Crisis and Stock Market Automation on Market Efficiency: A Case for the Botswana Stock Exchange. University of Cape Town.