Abstract
In this paper I analyze the competitiveness of the U.S. equity markets by studying the recent trend in the share of global IPOs they are able to attract. I find that the U.S. equity market share has dropped dramatically from 2000 to 2005. This drop cannot be explained by changes in the geographical or the sectoral composition of IPOs. The most likely cause is a combination of an improvement in the competitors (mostly European equity markets) and an increase in the compliance costs for publicly traded companies.