In my remarks today, I would like to review the economic developments in the euro area, explain our recent monetary policy decisions and reflect on the necessary reforms of Economic and Monetary Union, or EMU. Recent economic developments Economic growth in the euro area remains solid and broad-based, as confirmed by the latest data.
This productivity slowdown matters enormously because Americans’ standard of living depends on productivity growth. With productivity growth of 2 percent a year, the average standard of living will double roughly every 35 years. That means our children can reasonably hope to be better off economically than we are now.