The extreme view of these two trends corresponds to what has been called the Secular Stagnation Hypothesis that would cloud the future of advanced economies at present, particularly Europe. 8 This hypothesis has two versions. One is more related to the supplyside, stressing technological and demographic factors behind the growth slowdown; the other, underlines the demand-side related to excess savings and lower investment prospects.
9 The extreme view of this demand-side version points to the possibility that the real interest rate, that would be the equilibrium rate at full employment, could turn negative during some periods of time.