The level of investment, ten years after the emergence of the crisis, is below the pre-crisis maximum in the EU as a whole, and in the CESEE region as well. Exception is countries such as Macedonia, Poland, and Estonia recently, where investment pattern was different, and the current level is above the pre-crisis one. Chart 3: GDP and demand components, 2008=100 CEE  160.0  160.0  140.0  120.0  120.0  100.0  100.0  80.0  80.0  60.0  60.0  40.0  20.0  20.0  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017  40.0  180.0  SEE  140.0  Baltics  180.0 160.0  140.0  140.0  120.0  120.0  100.0  100.0  80.0  80.0  60.0  60.0  40.0  40.0  20.0  20.0  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017  160.0  Region  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017  180.0  Source: Eurostat and NBRM calculations. At the current juncture, an important question is whether such slow post-crisis investment recovery should be perceived as a natural cyclical adjustment, or are there some structural forces that also play role?
Stock exchanges were established at different points in the transition process: Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Slovenia opened their stock markets in 1990–91; the Czech Republic, Lithuania and the Slovak Republic followed in 1993; Latvia and Romania were next in 1995, followed by Estonia in 1996. Turkey’s stock exchange was established much earlier than those of the transition countries, in early-1986. 9  11  SMEs that are more prone to bank credits), some of the causes are related to supply-side factors. And when discussing the latter group of reasons, commonly four important aspects are highlighted: 1) the role of equity; 2) the role of institutional investors; 3) household preference for bank deposits and 4) regulatory environment. When it comes to equity, a large distance compared to the EU-28 average is visible in the area of financing through local equity market and venture capital availability, with a rank of 90 and 74 (EU-28 average rank is 61 and 55). Yet, concerning the availability of venture capital, some CESEE countries (the Baltics, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Macedonia) score rather well, reflecting the public support and a favorable regulatory environment. “This is encouraging given the importance of this financing channel for start-ups and innovative companies”.