Some euro area countries experienced asymmetric boom-and-bust cycles similar to those just described in the United States. Several euro area countries had higher than average growth in the pre-crisis years, while a few have experienced growth below the euro area average for the past decade due to structural issues that could have been tackled with more determination.
Moreover, there is some evidence of conditions in debt markets influencing the behaviour of firms in the mining sector. The mining boom required significant financing. As we have observed previously, much of that finance was raised internally. [4] However, mining companies also accessed external finance. Some of that came from banks, but a large share came from the bond market (Graph 11).