Accessing International Equity Markets: What Firms from Which Countries Go Abroad?

We study the determinants of accessing international equity markets for a large sample of firms from 53 countries. We find that firm characteristicssize, growth, valuation, performance, and foreign activityare important determinants for firms from developed countries, but less so for firms from developing countries. We report evidence that, conditional on the country already being internationalized, firms from less developed countries use the cross listing to bond to higher legal and other standards. Finally, listing abroad is associated with an increase in sales growth, higher valuation and return on assets, and lower leverage, although these effects diminish following listing