Measuring market liquidity: An introductory survey
Abstract
Asset liquidity in modern financial markets is a key but elusive concept. A market is often said to be liquid when the prevailing structure of transactions provides a prompt and secure link between the demand and supply of assets, thus delivering low costs of transaction. Providing a rigorous and empirically relevant definition of market liquidity has, however, provided to be a difficult task. This paper provides a critical review of the frameworks currently available for modelling and estimating the market liquidity of assets. We consider definitions that stress the role of the bid-ask spread and the estimation of its components that arise from alternative sources of market friction. In this case, intra-daily measures of liquidity appear relevant for capturing the core features of a market, and for their ability to describe the arrival of new information to market participants.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1112.6169,
title = {Measuring market liquidity: An introductory survey},
author = {Alexandros Gabrielsen and Massimiliano Marzo and Paolo Zagaglia},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1112.6169},
year = {2011}
}