Long story short, the number of IPO's on US equity markets has shrunk dramatically. It fell not by 30% or even 50%, but by over 95% from 1996 to 2008. In 1996

Long story short, the number of IPO's on US equity markets has shrunk dramatically. It fell not by 30% or even 50%, but by over 95% from 1996 to 2008. In 1996 there were 756 IPOs and at the low in 2008 there were only 36. It's picking up a bit again, with 100 IPO's in the US this year. I think one of the more interesting bits from the article is "This year alone, Chinese companies introduced 391 global I.P.O.’s, worth $89.5 billion, the data firm Dealogic reported. The 99 I.P.O.’s by American companies listing in the United States were worth $15.69 billion."