Gross capital flows and asymmetric information

This paper shows that the behavior of gross capital flows can identify the nature of information asymmetries in international equity markets. Information asymmetry between foreign and domestic investors implies a correlation between net flows and returns. Information asymmetry within groups of foreign and domestic investors implies that gross flows and absolute returns are correlated. I find that the correlation between gross flows and absolute returns is stronger than the correlation between net flows and returns, suggesting that information asymmetries within countries are more important than those between countries. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Ltd.