On the capital markets the euro is not the only factor promoting change. The trends towards globalisation and deregulation as well as new developments in technology are also playing a major role. The markets have become more liquid, larger, deeper and more complex.
Barry Eichengreen has pointed out that countries can find themselves in a low-level equilibrium trap in which the lack of infrastructure limits finance and the lack of finance limits infrastructure.2 By the time this gasometer was built, Germany – and other Western countries – had managed to avoid this trap: partly because they developed strong institutions and an effective administration; they protected private property rights as well as capital markets and banking systems; moreover the rule of law prevailed.