Beyond the Core: Stock-Market Development and Performance in the Middle East, 1872–1914

Ali Coskun Tuncer

No 21520, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: Using a monthly security-level dataset, this paper reconstructs market size, composition, and equity returns for Alexandria, Cairo, and Istanbul. By 1913, equity capitalization reached 40% of GDP in Egypt but 14% in Ottoman Turkey. Growth came through new issuance rather than price appreciation, while risk-adjusted returns were low. Istanbul returns co-moved more strongly with London, reflecting foreign-incorporated mining and banking firms linked to international capital markets, while Egypt’s larger market was concentrated in land and mortgage finance tied to its cotton economy. The findings show that legal regimes governing foreign capital shaped how peripheral exchanges interacted with global financial markets.

Keywords: Stock; market; capitalization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F65 G15 N25 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-05
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://cepr.org/publications/DP21520 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:21520

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
https://cepr.org/publications/DP21520

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research 33 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DX, UK.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CEPR ().