A SUERF conference jointly organised and hosted by the Bank of Finland, 20–21 September 2007 in Helsinki.
The contribution of integrated financial markets to economic growth is high on the agenda of the European policy makers. However, research hitherto has focused less on the factors that may make finance matter for growth in the more mature economies, such as the European OECD countries. The objective of this conference is therefore to present new high-quality research on how improvements and integration in the financial markets contribute to innovations in all sectors of the economy and thereby to economic growth opportunities, with an eye to a better understanding of the nexus between finance and growth especially in advanced countries and the challenges for growth in Europe. The objective is also to provide a forum for debate on these topics among market participants, policy makers and researchers.