This webinar is focused on our research paper that introduces the Listing Stringency Index (LSI), a novel, survey-based composite measure developed using data from 40 World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) member exchanges. The LSI quantifies and compares IPO listing requirements across nine regulatory dimensions, including financial thresholds, governance, disclosure, and operational compliance. It provides a standardized framework to analyse the relative stringency of listing regimes without prescribing optimal regulatory design.
Our findings reveal substantial cross-jurisdictional variation in how market entry is regulated, with particularly wide differences in voting rights, financial criteria, and corporate governance rules. The LSI also captures changes over time, documenting both tightening and relaxation of rules across dimensions—particularly in response to ESG pressures and SME access priorities.
Dr Ishak Demir is an economist in the Research Department at the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE). He previously held academic and research roles at Middlesex University, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the University of Lincoln. He holds a PhD in Economics from Birkbeck, University of London.
His research focuses on financial economics and capital markets, with recent work on SME equity markets, IPO activity, the role of exchanges in economic development, and the interaction between monetary policy and financial markets. He has published in leading international outlets including the Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, International Journal of Finance & Economics, Economic Modelling, and the IMF Regional Economic Outlook, and contributes regularly to policy-facing research for global market stakeholders.
Erfan Ghofrani is a Financial Economist at the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), where he conducts research on financial market structure, sustainability, and supply chain dynamics, with a focus on ESG shocks, emissions disclosure, market concentration, and IPO activity. He previously held a postdoctoral position at ESADE Business School and earned his PhD in Economics from Pompeu Fabra University, specializing in uncertainty shocks, Bayesian learning, and their impact on investment dynamics and monetary policy.
