Electronic Trading and Stock Market Participation in Africa: Does Technology Induce Participation?

This study examines the contentious issue of migrating to electronic trading platforms among African stock exchanges. Using Bayesian estimations, we demonstrate that transitioning from a physical to a virtual stock exchange decreases activity on the stock exchange whilst increasing listing. Our findings further reveal that the impact of migrating is more pronounced for non-Sub-Saharan African countries. In terms of policy, the results imply that African exchanges cannot optimise the efficiency of their stock markets simply by migrating to electronic trading platforms.