Shooting the Messenger: The Ban on Short Selling

John M. Green, Stephen Kirchner, Robert BianchiFebruary 1, 2010PF19

In September 2008, governments around the world instituted bans on the short sale of equity securities.  In Australia, the ban went further and lasted longer than in other comparable countries.  These papers explore the pros and cons on short selling in the Australian context.  Short selling promotes marker liquidity and price discovery.  However, short selling has also been implicated in market manipulation.  The papers address the question of how short selling and securities lending should be regulated.

 

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