We find a negative relation between democracy and initial public offering (IPO) underpricing for a sample of 23,050 IPOs across 45 countries. The effect of democracy on underpricing is weaker for IPOs audited by Big 4 auditing firms, backed by venture capital firms, and with better disclosure specificity of use of proceeds. Democracy exerts a larger influence on underpricing for firms with higher agency problems, in countries with weaker institutional quality or shareholder protection, and during periods of high investor sentiment or economic policy uncertainty. Overall, our results highlight the importance of democracy in reducing IPO underpricing around the world.

对于 45 个国家/地区的 23,050 份 IPO 样本，我们发现民主与首次公开募股 (IPO) 抑价之间存在负相关关系。对于由四大审计公司审计、由风险投资公司支持且收益使用披露更加明确的 IPO，民主对抑价的影响较弱。在机构质量或股东保护较弱的国家，以及在投资者情绪高涨或经济政策不确定的时期，民主对代理问题较高的公司的抑价产生更大的影响。总体而言，我们的结果突出了民主在减少全球 IPO 抑价方面的重要性。