These include the announced merger of Deutsche Börse and NYSE, the sale of SIX Group’s Eurex-stake to Deutsche Börse and a move of trading volumes away from “national” quasimonopolies towards multilateral trading venues such as multilateral trading facilities (MTF). Some estimates indicate that as much as 25% of equity trading volumes are now handled by these new players. Because of such developments, in the Swiss Blue-Chip segment, SIX Swiss Exchange’s average market share declined from over 80% in 2009 to around 70% in 11 2010. Post-trade infrastructure is also under pressure to evolve. Notably, the Financial Stability Board recommends a wider adoption of Central Counterparties (CCPs) in the over-thecounter (OTC) derivatives markets. By mitigating counterparty risk, increasing transparency and limiting the likelihood of contagion in these complex markets, CCPs reduce systemic risk. Regulators in both the European Union and the United States are thus promoting increased use of CCPs. A second example, upon which I would like to dwell, is the European Central Bank’s (ECB) “TARGET2-Securities (T2S)” project, which has attracted much attention in the industry. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the initiative, it aims to establish a single venue where securities may be settled against the euro and possibly against other currencies, partially replacing the existing national settlement infrastructures.
But we are under no illusion that, so far at least, we have only skimmed the surface. Skills and time matching There are several obvious frictions in the matching process between volunteers and sociallyworthwhile activities, which potentially reduce the effectiveness of volunteering or the likelihood of it happening in the first place. One is time. It is not surprising that time is the most cited barrier to volunteering (Figure 14). 32 But technology, as in every other aspect of life, can improve the efficiency of matching in ways which can stretch time. We have recently seen the emergence of a number of charities with support what the NCVO have called “micro-volunteering”. For example, “Help from Home” is an initiative to encourage micro-volunteering by allowing people to donate as little as 5 minutes to a worthy cause. For example, you can spend a few minutes describing photos to improve a blind person’s experience of a museum, play an online game in aid of scientific research, or write an email to a sick child. Tasks are given a “pyjama-rating” to drive home the message that it is easy to volunteer. A second friction is appropriately matching the skills of volunteers to those activities where they would be best put to use. PhD economists are no less capable of painting sheds or cleaning riverbeds than the next person. But this is unlikely in general to be the best use of their skills and time, nor the charities.