Guest Editor's Introduction

This paper investigates order-based manipulation and its effects on investor behavior and market efficiency. Using a unique data set from the Chinese stock market, we show that (1) order-based manipulation affects market liquidity and trading behavior, (2) the manipulator pretends to be informed or expects to be seen as informed by choosing a "right" time to implement the manipulation, and (3) the manipulation rapidly changes investor reaction to the market order/depth imbalance in the short run, and the effect gradually drops during the postmanipulation period. Our results are robust to alternative measures and offer clear implications for both theory and policy.