Real assets, financial assets, liquidity and the lemon problem

Return obtained by diversification is based on average quality. Similarly, under asymmetric information, the price at which an asset can be sold reflects the average quality of assets. Therefore, under some conditions, sale of an asset under asymmetric information is a useful alternative to diversification. This idea is developed with a model that incorporates a liquidity shock. One key result is that investment in real assets is higher under asymmetric information than under symmetric information. The model can explain why the ratio of real assets to financial assets is higher in emerging economies than in developed countries.