Research on the Indian capital market: a review

Abstract

In this paper we present a review of research done in the field of Indian capital markets during the fifteen years from 1977 to 1992. The research works included in the survey were identified by two search procedures. Firstly, we wrote to 118 Indian university departments and research institutions requesting information on the works done in this field in their department/institution. After three reminders, we obtained responses from 53 institutions. Simultaneously, we searched through various Indian journals in our library, located books listed in the library catalogue and traced through the list of references provided in various research works. Considering the size, vintage and development of the Indian capital market, the total volume of research on it appears to be woefully modest - about 0.1 unit of work per institution per year! Moreover, a large number of works are merely descriptive or prescriptive without rigorous analysis. Certain areas such as arbitrage pricing theory, option pricing theory, agency theory, and signalling theory are virtually unresearched in the Indian context. Besides, very little theoretical work has been done by researchers in India. However, with improved availability of databases and computing resources, and with increasing global interest in Indian markets, we expect an explosion of work in the near future.