Phillip Hartmann and three other economists from European Central Bank published an "Occasional Paper" last fall entitled "The Role of Financial Markets and Innovation in Productivity and Growth in Europe" which outlines policy reforms that they think would help reverse the Europe's slow growth. They pay particular attention to the relationship between finance and (technological) innovation:

The extended period of limited growth experienced until recently in many European countries raises the issue as to which policies could be most effective in improving their economic performance. This paper argues that further financial sector reforms may be a valuable complement to ongoing efforts to reform labour and product markets. There is a long-standing view in the economic literature that well-functioning financial systems allow economies to exploit the benefits of innovation in terms of productivity and growth. ... The results suggest that there are a number of ways in which the financial market framework conditions in Europe can be improved to increase the contribution of the financial system to innovation, productivity and growth.