Moreover, the current degree of inflation dispersion among the euro area countries is practically the same as that seen in the US, in particular with the available data from 14 US Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
In the case of output growth, the current degree of differences in output growth across the euro area countries is neither large by historical standards nor by references to other relevant geographical areas. In fact, since 1999 – the start of the third stage of EMU – growth differentials have declined somewhat.