What's the Difference between the Stockmarket and the Racetrack?D.J. Johnstone
Journal of Gambling Business and Economics, 2007, vol. 1, issue 2, pages 121-127 Abstract: There are many anecdotes likening the stockmarket to betting, often voiced from the perspective of an inexperienced investor or gambler to whom the risks seem much the same in either marketplace. A fundamental aspect of the stockmarket that separates it from all forms of gambling is that a naive investor who carries a well diversified portfolio, and holds it long enough, is bound to win (based on historical evidence at least). In gambling markets, an unsophisticated player is bound to lose, the more so the longer he plays. For well informed or otherwise sophisticated traders, the racetrack and stockmarket are effectively analogous, in that both present opportunities to take money off less well informed players, albeit not so much that they lose interest. The stockmarket does not offer the recreational attractions of the racetrack, and must therefore return profits to most or all investors, at least in the long run, if they are to stay in the game. JEL-codes: L83 (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:buc:jgbeco:v:1:y:2007:i:2:p:121-127 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article Journal of Gambling Business and Economics is edited by Nottingham Business School Leighton Vaughan Williams More articles in Journal of Gambling Business and Economics from University of Buckingham Press |
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