Successful financial markets can help grow emerging economies, says Professor Mathijs van Dijk of Rotterdam School of Management (RSM). But new stock markets also regularly fail to take off, so when are the conditions right for establishing one? A new study by Van Dijk and a team of researchers reveals what ultimately makes stock markets flourish. Early success of the stock markets turns out to be a necessary condition. A solid banking sector and growing national savings predict success in the long run, they found. The result can provide insights to the 49 –mostly developing- countries worldwide that currently do not have a stock market.