Maureen O'Hara: Liquidity in a Fragile World

• 17:00 - 17:15: Arrival
• 17:15: Welcome
• 17:30 - 19:00: Lecture and Q+A (Chemistry Auditorium XLG2, Christopher Ingold Building)
• 19:00 - 19:30: Drinks reception

Abstract

Liquidity and price discovery are mainstays of market microstructure research.  Our usual assumption is that more is better but… it may not be that simple.  Recent episodes in Gilt markets, corporate bond markets, and Treasury markets underscore that episodic illiquidity in on the rise in the fixed income markets.  What is causing this illiquidity and what to do about it?  Maureen’s talk draws on research on how the changing nature of fixed income markets is affecting the fragility of fixed income markets, highlighting the roles played by regulatory changes and the increasing role of electronic trading.  Using recent research results, Maureen evaluates potential solutions to alleviating liquidity problems in a fragile world.

Professor Maureen O’Hara is a leading expert of market microstructure. She has made major contributions to the study of financial markets, with specific research on liquidity, high-frequency trading, the informativeness of the order flow, bond markets, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. In addition, Professor O’Hara has published on a broad range of topics including banking and financial intermediation, experimental economics, law and finance, and ethics and finance. Professor O’Hara has served as President of the American Finance Association, the Western Finance Association, the Financial Management Association, the Society for Financial Studies, and the International Atlantic Economic Society.