The market efficiency of the Tanzania stock market

The purpose of this article is to examine the efficiency of the Tanzania stock market. The study attempts to answer whether the Tanzania stock market is weak-form efficient. The study applies a battery of tests: the serial correlation test, unit root tests, runs test and the variance ratio test using daily and weekly data with a sample spanning from November 2006 to August 2015 for the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) all share index and from January 2009 to August 2015 for the DSE share index. Overall, the results of the market efficiency are mixed. The serial correlation test, unit root test and the runs test do not support weak-form efficiency, while the more robust variance ratio test supports weak-form efficiency for the DSE. The main contribution of the study is that the market efficiency of the Tanzania stock market has increased over the sample period.

Keywords: adaptive market hypothesis, efficiency market hypothesis, serial correlations test, unit root test, runs test, variance ratio test, Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange.
JEL Classification: G14, G15