The article explores how financial markets and economic factors are connected in the EU. By analyzing data from different EU regions, the researchers found that the size of financial markets and stock market movements are linked to the GDP per person. They used special techniques to study how these factors interact over time. Interestingly, they discovered that countries outside the euro zone may be less affected by financial crises compared to those inside the euro zone. This suggests that financial integration within the euro zone is closely monitored, but similar processes outside the euro zone are not receiving as much attention.