Demand Driven Securities Regulation: Evidence from Crowdfunding

Venture Capital: An International Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, 15, 361-379 (2013).

36 Pages Posted: 20 Sep 2013 Last revised: 24 Nov 2014

See all articles by Douglas J. Cumming

Douglas J. Cumming

Florida Atlantic University; Birmingham Business School; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Sofia Johan

Florida Atlantic University - Finance; University of Aberdeen; Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC)

Date Written: September 1, 2013

Abstract

We study the law production race-to-the-bottom/race-to-the-top debate in a unique context of crowd-funding in which potential agency problems are extreme. Our empirical setting is based on survey data from Canada in 2013(Q1) when equity crowd-funding was not permitted but was openly contemplated by regulators. The data show some tension towards a race-to-the-bottom insofar as start-ups prefer fewer restrictions on their ability to crowd-fund, and portals prefer fewer disclosure requirements and fewer restrictions on free trading of crowd-funded shares. However, this evidence is tempered by the fact that investors demand more disclosure, limits on amounts entrepreneurs can raise, and lower thresholds for audited financial statements, among other things. Based on the ease with which the Internet facilitates cross-jurisdictional investment, we infer from the data that investor demands will give rise to a race-to-the-top in the crowd-funding space.

Keywords: crowd-funding, securities law, race-to-the-top, race-to-the-bottom

JEL Classification: G23, G24, G28, K22

Suggested Citation

Cumming, Douglas J. and Johan, Sofia A., Demand Driven Securities Regulation: Evidence from Crowdfunding (September 1, 2013). Venture Capital: An International Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, 15, 361-379 (2013)., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2328347

Douglas J. Cumming

Florida Atlantic University ( email )

777 Glades Rd
Boca Raton, FL 33431
United States

HOME PAGE: http://sites.google.com/view/douglascumming/bio?authuser=0

Birmingham Business School ( email )

Edgbaston Park Road
Birmingham, B15 2TY
United Kingdom

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

HOME PAGE: http://https://ecgi.global/users/douglas-cumming

Sofia A. Johan (Contact Author)

Florida Atlantic University - Finance ( email )

777 Glades Rd
Boca Raton, FL 33431
United States

HOME PAGE: http://sites.google.com/view/sofiajohan

University of Aberdeen ( email )

Dunbar Street
Aberdeen, Scotland AB24 3QY
United Kingdom

Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC) ( email )

Warandelaan 2
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands

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