Essays on Stock Exchange Efficiency

The stock exchange industry has been subject to unprecedented dynamics in recent decades, particularly in Europe and the US. Exchanges are no longer organized as not-for-profit mutuals and have long lost their almost club-like atmosphere. Instead many of them have converted into commercial enterprises, abandoned their consensual governance structure and replaced the trading floor with an electronic trading system. The members (and customers) of the exchanges sold their interest in the exchange to international investors that - in contrast to the members - have a purely financial interest in the exchange. This changes have raised concerns amongst both regulators and market participants, however, for somewhat different reasons. Why did we see these significant changes in the organization of this industry and what are their consequences? This book, which is a collection of articles that represent the dissertation of the author, strives to answer the raised issues both empirically and theoretically. The goal is to provide a deeper understanding for the underlying economics in this industry and explain the rationale for the strategic actions undertaken by its main participants.