Public enforcement of securities market rules: Resource-based evidence from the Securities and Exchange Commission

Tim Lohse, Razvan Pascalau () and Christian Thomann

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2014, vol. 106, issue C, 197-212

Abstract: We empirically investigate whether increases in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) budget have an effect on firms’ compliance behavior with securities market rules. Our study uses a dataset on the SEC's resources and its enforcement actions over a period beginning shortly after the Second World War and ending in 2010. We find that increases in the SEC's resources both improve compliance and lead to an increased activity level of the SEC. The higher level of compliance is reflected by a decrease in the numbers of enforcement cases. The increased activity level is reflected by a surge in the number of investigations conducted by the SEC.

Keywords: Public enforcement; Securities laws; Compliance; Securities and Exchange Commission; Budget (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D21 G14 G18 K22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:106:y:2014:i:c:p:197-212

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2014.06.010

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