We experienced that on the occasion of the first and second oil shock in the 70’s, when the authorities’ response created mass unemployment in Europe for the first time since World War II. To sum up, a number of countries have the possibility to use their room for manoeuvring. Others have not.
On the negative side, businesses have continued to make sharp reductions in their capital expenditures, and exports have been hard hit by the steep drop in economic activity abroad. However, there are a few tentative signs that the pace of decline in some other key components of demand may be lessening.