Gillmore Centre Webinar Symposium on the Power of Social Networks in Capital Markets: Insights from Large-Scale Data Analysis
Hosted by Dr Shu Zhang Gillmore Centre Research Fellow
Speaker: Professor Lin Peng is the Krell Chair Professor in Finance at Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, the City University of New York
As Aristotle famously noted, ''Humans are, by nature, social animals.'' Social networks' impacts on capital markets are likely to be even more important today because large-scale online social networks allow for easy communication among individuals that transcends the frictions associated with factors such as geographic distances.
On one hand, social networks facilitate the flow of ideas and transmit valuable information. On the other hand, they can also spread rumours, amplify biases, influence individual beliefs, and trigger disagreements. These networks can thus exert substantial influence on investor and firm decisions in financial markets.
In this seminar, Prof Peng will present the latest research that uses large-scale, representative, real-world social network data to examine the effects of social networks on news diffusion, belief formation, trading, liquidity, and valuations of stocks.