Culture and the disposition effect

Abstract: We study the relationship between national culture and the disposition effect by investigating international differences in the degree of investors' disposition effect. We utilize brokerage data of 387,993 traders from 83 countries and find great variation in the degree of the disposition effect across the world. We find that the cultural dimensions of long-term orientation and indulgence help to explain why certain nationalities are more prone to the disposition effect. We also find support on an international level for the role of age and gender in explaining the disposition effect.