As I will show presently, in the euro area housing is likely to be a particularly important factor. The picture is complicated still further if one takes a general equilibrium perspective. Expansionary monetary policies designed to fend off deflation and stimulate economic growth also generate higher real interest rates over the medium term.
12 In other words, from a longer-term perspective the interest income channel would appear to work in the opposite direction to that posited by the critics. Since what really matters for savers is the real return on their savings in the longer run, this reading may well be more persuasive than an exclusively short-term focus.