Why Do Companies Go Public? An Empirical Analysis
利用意大利私营企业的大样本数据，比较上市企业与私营企业的事前事后特征，发现公司上市并非为了融资和增长，而是为了在高投资和增长后平衡账目，上市后信贷成本降低、控制权交易增加。
Using a large database of private firms in Italy, we analyze the determinants of initial public offerings (IPOs) by comparing the ex ante and ex post characteristics of IPOs with those of private firms. The likelihood of an IPO is increasing in the company's size and the industry's market‐to‐book ratio. Companies appear to go public not to finance future investments and growth, but to rebalance their accounts after high investment and growth. IPOs are also followed by lower cost of credit and increased turnover in control.