The Real Effects of Modern Information Technologies : Evidence from the EDGAR Implementation

Using the implementation of the EDGAR system from 1993 to 1996 as a shock to information dissemination technologies, we examine the potential benefits and costs of modern information technologies on the real economy. On the one hand, we document that broader information dissemination leads to a decrease in the cost of capital and an increase in the level of equity financing and corporate investment. On the other hand, we provide evidence that greater dissemination of corporate disclosures crowds out investors’ private information acquisition and reduces managerial learning from stock prices. Our findings suggest that it is important to consider this tradeoff between improved equity financing and reduced managerial learning when evaluating the economic effects of modern information technologies. Our evidence suggests that the former effect dominates in value firms while the latter effect dominates in high-growth firms