According to one recent study that used four approaches to measuring the gains from trade, the increase in trade since World War II has boosted U.S. annual incomes on the order of $ per household (Bradford, Grieco, and Hufbauer, 2006). 2 The same study found that removing all remaining barriers to trade would raise U.S. incomes anywhere from $ to $ per household.
I remain as convinced now as I was in October 1998 that the “prominent role” assigned to money in the ECB’s strategy is a crucial component of our overall stability-oriented approach, which has proved very successful through the often challenging circumstances of the past eight years. Some important empirical findings for the euro area have been reported earlier in this session.