17 Lack of fiscal discipline can also jeopardise the efficacy of monetary policy and lead to higher risk premia in interest rates, which in turn may have a negative impact on investment. There is a wide consensus that policies geared towards structural reforms enhancing these economic factors fostering innovative investments will benefit long-term productivity growth.
As mentioned, overseas economies as a whole are gradually heading toward a pick-up, although the pace is quite modest. Therefore, in the United States and Europe a negative output gap remains – excess labor force and excess facilities – and unemployment rates remain elevated (Chart 6).