Overcoming Asymmetric Information in the Crowdfunding Market
Crowdfunding has gained increasing attention from regulators and policymakers worldwide, yet responses have varied due to its hybrid position between direct and intermediated finance, diverse business models, and limited evidence on market failures that would justify regulatory intervention.
This book provides a comprehensive analysis of how market- and regulatory-based mechanisms of investor protection interact in the crowdfunding sector and proposes a risk-based regulatory framework. It compares financial-return crowdfunding to traditional finance actors, examines how information asymmetry is addressed through voluntary disclosure, issuer signalling, and platform gatekeeping, and explores the economic functions of self-regulatory frameworks adopted by crowdfunding associations in Europe.
The book then turns to the role of law in addressing residual risks and accommodating the re-intermediation roles of platforms. Finally, it presents empirical evidence on the effects of the UK’s bespoke crowdfunding regulation on market outcomes.
This book will appeal to scholars and students in law, economics, and finance, as well as to regulators and policymakers seeking a deeper understanding of crowdfunding markets and their regulation.
Ana Odorović is a researcher at Financial Innovation for Impact and a research affiliate at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. She completed her PhD at the Institute of Law and Economics, University of Hamburg. During her doctoral studies, she was a visiting researcher at the University of Oxford and a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade. Her research interests lie at the intersection of competition and regulation in (digital) financial services. Alongside her academic work, she has worked as a consultant on FinTech regulation and competition for international institutions, including the World Bank and the European Commission.
