A large body of evidence suggests that investor protection regulationassists the development of major stock exchanges but this leaves openthe question of whether or not the same level of regulation should beapplied to all centralised trading platforms. Allowing for regulatoryvariation permits a wider choice of investment opportunities for liquidity conscious investors lowers some firms' cost of capital and enhancesplatform competition while potentially negative spillover mechanismslack both theoretical credibility and empirical support. Overalluniformity in investor protection regulation seems designed to provide anexpensive solution to a doubtful problem
