The decrease in companies going public has received widespread attention, and the associated costs are widely debated. We document that high local initial public offering (IPO) activity leads to increases in stock market participation of 5–6 percent. This is striking, given that such participation represents a key factor toward building wealth. Local IPOs increase both households’ propensity to own stock and their percent equity holdings. The attention channel drives effects: local IPOs attract attention to the market, through increased information production and publicity. The wealth channel has little influence, consistent with local IPOs not generating wealth shocks for most households.
Lorenzo is a Ph.D. student in the Accounting, Banking and Finance track.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business from Luiss Guido Carli University and a Master of Science degree in Economics from HEC Lausanne.
He has experience in risk analysis for the insurance and financial sectors from working first at EIOPA and then at ESMA. His main research interests are related to retail investor financial behaviour, technological innovation in financial markets and financial education.
The seminar will be held in English.
Major information: Matteo Merlo (matteo.merlo2@unibo.it).