Thus, medium term trends point to slowing of growth in the developed countries. One consequence of the process of financial expansion and globalisation is that the policy space available to governments is substantially reduced. If the government in any one country chooses to accelerate employment and output growth by expanding expenditures, any inflation that this might spur would worsen the trade deficit and erode the value of financial assets. This in turn would result in an outflow of capital and trigger a collapse of the currency. As a result, governments learn to limit their expenditures and curtail their deficits, resulting in chronic deflation and slow growth. Whatever growth that does occur, is triggered by private expenditures which are increasingly financed by the excess liquidity that financial deregulation and openness deliver. As noted above, this dependence on debt-financed consumption, investment or housing booms, besides limiting the rate of growth, makes economies prone to crises resulting from speculation. As a result, relatively slower growth is accompanied by greater volatility. The sub-prime crisis and its aftermath is an example of such volatility.