Math major here. I have a belief that stock exchanges are bad, I will list my reasons below. But I need clever ways to isolate them and scientifically, or rather mathematically prove that these bad things are happening.
>Exchanges require a lot of resource from government to regulate it
You need to expand government, create new agencies and departments, laws and regulations to control it. All of which require significant amount of cash(tax) and human resources, that could be used for a better cause.
>It creates favorable environment for bad, fraudulent behavior
All parties involved, companies, investors, regulators can and get involved in gaming the system in many different ways. Senators get rich from knowing in advance about mergers, acquisitions etc. Companies bribe regulators with promises, that can't be proven in court. Companies use all sorts of accounting tricks to get their numbers look better, use investor's money to make large buybacks to keep stock prices high, etc. etc. etc.
>Perfect environment for formation of bubbles
Don't think I need to explain this, but ease of buying stocks makes it perfect for bubbles. Crowd jumps on hot stocks, make it go high, which attracts more fools and it becomes this upwards whirl of doom.
>Public companies are run worse than private companies
Because besides profits and revenue they need to think about stock prices and public image, which makes it hard for them to make tough decisions in times of crisis. It also encourages risky behavior, because stock exchanges favor companies that rapidly expand.
>Traders and brokers don't create any value
All those smart, hardworking people could've become scientist, engineers, real businessman creating real value, but instead they are busy grinding stocks back and forth. Some of them win, some lose, similar to poker players, but they don't create value for society.
Can you guys come up with clever methods to isolate these things and unironically prove them?