Yeah but the economy is a lot bigger now too. It is an indisputable fact that the U.S. IPO market smaller in both size and frequency. It isn't the only cause,

Yeah but the economy is a lot bigger now too. It is an indisputable fact that the U.S. IPO market smaller in both size and frequency. It isn't the only cause, but Sarbox has hammered public companies with huge regulatory costs for absolutely no benefit-- indeed, there is some evidence that corporate malfeasance is easier today because the rules are so complex, the true risks are easier to bury. SarBox certainly didn't stop the corruption in public mortgage finance and investment banks. You could argue that the law was tougher pre-SarBox-- at least Enron and WorldCom crooks went to jail.