Firm-level analysis of the international diversification of small integrated stock markets: Ireland 1999-2007

Domestic market indices may not be domestic in the pure sense of the word if they contain a large number of multinational corporations (MNCs). This is particularly relevant in a small open economy like Ireland. This paper shows that Ireland's strong position in attracting FDI has resulted in the domestic market index (the ISEQ index) becoming a marginal measure of the Irish corporate sector. Further results show that Ireland is gaining international exposure through foreign MNCs but this foreign exposure is not directly related to the regions where these firms do business.