Detailed data collected across a wide range of statistical areas related to population and housing, allows for disaggregation by geographic areas, for example districts and sub-districts, as well as small population groups.
A first possibility is that, since January 1999, the euro area has simply been lucky, and has been hit by a sequence of smaller and more favourable shocks than other economies. Reduced shock volatility may have created a steadier economic picture, and thus steady inflation and output. Structural analysis does not support this conjecture, however.