The WFE Awarded Best Paper By The ECMI For Research On IPO Drivers

Researchers from The World Federation of Exchanges (“WFE”), the global industry group for exchange groups and CCPs, were awarded best paper for their new research, “Attracting New Listings: What Shapes IPO Activity Across Markets”, at the European Capital Markets Institute (ECMI) Annual Meeting.

The ECMI published a call for the submission of research papers related to capital markets and their functioning, and a committee of academics and international experts selected the WFE’s Research Paper for the prize and the opportunity to present the findings at the 2025 ECMI Annual Conference on 4 November 2025. The three WFE Research economists who co-authored the paper jointly accepted the prize and presented the paper in Brussels.

The paper offers the most comprehensive analysis to date of how exchange-level, macroeconomic, and regulatory factors shape IPO activity across 79 global stock exchanges from 2002 to 2024. The research found that market liquidity and GDP growth are the most consistent and robust factors impacting the volume of IPOs, while the higher the degree of financial development in a jurisdiction is associated with larger IPOs, particularly in emerging and developing markets. 

The authors developed the new WFE Listing Stringency Index (LSI) to capture the breadth of listing requirements across exchanges and assess how regulatory frameworks shape IPO markets.

Dr Ying Liu, Economist at the WFE and co-author of the paper, said, “Our research found that market liquidity and economic growth are the factors most consistently associated with higher levels of IPO activity. While having a developed financial system influences the size rather than the frequency of IPOs in a jurisdiction. We also found clear differences between markets: advanced economies are more sensitive to volatility and macroeconomic conditions, whilst emerging markets gain the most from improvements in liquidity, financial development, and overall economic expansion.” 

Dr Ishak Demir, Economist at the WFE and co-author of the paper, said, “We were delighted to receive this award and be invited to present our paper at this prestigious international conference, in front of policymakers, academics and industry representatives. One of the main objectives of this research was to provide an evidence-based view of the factors that shape IPO activity across different market environments. By analysing two decades of data across a large set of global exchanges, we aim to offer policymakers, academics, and market practitioners a clearer understanding of the factors that shape IPO activity globally. We thank the ECMI and their committee of esteemed academics for recognising our work.” 

Dr Erfan Ghofrani, Economist at The WFE and co-author of the paper, said, “The Listing Stringency Index we developed as part of the research provides regulators with a useful tool, showing that easing overly strict listing requirements can increase market participation and capital raised, so long as transparency, market resilience, and governance standards remain intact.” 

Nandini Sukumar, Chief Executive Officer of the WFE, said, “I am incredibly proud of the team, led by Dr Pedro Gurrola-Perez, for this achievement. At the WFE we have built an exceptional team of academics who are producing cutting-edge research on the issues shaping our industry. We look forward to building on this work, using robust empirical evidence to inform industry dialogue and support policymaking that strengthens the functioning of global markets.”

Read the full Research Paper here.