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Pre- and post-famine indices of Irish equity prices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2008

CHARLES R. HICKSON  and
JOHN D. TURNER
CHARLES R. HICKSON
Affiliation:
School of Management and Economics, Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, j.turner@qub.ac.uk
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Abstract

The market for company stock in Ireland entered its formative period in the mid 1820s with the incorporation of banks and railways. Using data obtained from stockbroker lists, we estimate market capitalisation and construct weighted and unweighted monthly stock market indices for the period 1825–64. Our findings show that the market appears to have been relatively unaffected by the Famine. We suggest that an efficient-market explanation may better explain this finding than a dual-economy explanation. Our findings also show that the stock market increased significantly in value in the post-Famine period. This finding is consistent with an increase in demand for financial assets as well as the rapid commercialisation of the Irish economy.

Type
Research Article
Information
European Review of Economic History , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , April 2008 , pp. 3 - 38
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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