Market structure and price clustering: Maker-taker versus taker-maker

Abstract

We examine whether the different fee structures on equity exchanges, maker-taker or taker-maker, affects the frequency with which security prices cluster on round increments. We find higher price clustering on traditional maker-taker venues relative to inverted taker-maker venues. These results generally hold at the individual exchange level and across transaction- and quotation-level clustering measures. Furthermore, we document that quoted depth, both inside and outside the best prices, is significantly greater on maker-taker venues than on taker-maker venues. We show that liquidity supply is the main economic driver behind the difference in price clustering between market structures. Our findings indicate that fees and rebates alter order-routing strategies, which affect the precision of asset prices.