The US are not exactly regulation-free. Actually, I remember seeing people in HN who mentioned legal costs for companies tend to be much higher than in (continental) Europe.
The cost of capital is indeed one of the core issue. In Europe, almost your only way to get funding is through banks, the whole concept of VC is near absent.
In terms of innovation, etc. I think a lot of it is cultural essentialist BS. Just look at OSS: lots of core projects have a strong root in Europe, or even originated from there. But the culture of VC + university that is one core of innovation post WW2 in the US is completely absent in Europe. Intuitively, the fact that the market is more fragmented feels like an issue, but I don't know of any serious study on that.
The cost of capital is indeed one of the core issue. In Europe, almost your only way to get funding is through banks, the whole concept of VC is near absent.
In terms of innovation, etc. I think a lot of it is cultural essentialist BS. Just look at OSS: lots of core projects have a strong root in Europe, or even originated from there. But the culture of VC + university that is one core of innovation post WW2 in the US is completely absent in Europe. Intuitively, the fact that the market is more fragmented feels like an issue, but I don't know of any serious study on that.