Postgraduate research opportunities Shareholder investment horizons in early capital markets

Could short-termism in capital markets influence long term growth?  This is a question raised by the Bank of England in the wake of the Global financial crisis (see Haldane and Davies, 2011). They conclude that investor choice, like other life choices, is being re-tuned to a shorter wave-length and hypothesise that this constitutes a market failure as it would result in aggregate investment being too low in the economy, with long-duration projects suffering disproportionately.

However, this perception of investors neglects an understanding of investment behaviour over the long-run, and we believe that the development of corporate ownership in British capital markets may have important lessons for contemporary questions about short-termism amongst investors.

Focusing on the British capital market in the Nineteenth Century, and using historic shareholder records, accounting data and share price time series, this project will empirically investigate the relationship between investor horizons and how they impact on corporate policies and firm governance.

Further information

The successful candidate will join a stimulating, developmental and inclusive research and learning environment. Strathclyde Business School was awarded the Times Higher Education University of the Year in 2019 for a second time. The Accounting and Finance department of Strathclyde Business School is ranked 1^st in the UK for Accounting and Finance in Good University Guide 2022 and Complete University Guide 2022. By participating in research seminars, workshops and ad hoc learning activities, the candidate will engage with multiple disciplinary and theoretical perspectives and methodologies. The successful candidate will also be linked into the wider academic community in the area of economic and financial history, which will provide the student opportunities to present work at doctorial colloquiums and international conferences.

Progress will be reviewed annually. During the three-year PhD programme, the candidate is expected to participate in academic conferences, contribute to the School’s teaching provision, and potentially submit articles for publication in peer-reviewed journals.