Moreover, geopolitical uncertainties, the threat of protectionism, vulnerabilities in emerging markets and financial market volatility have proven to be more persistent than initially foreseen. In Europe in particular, the state of play of the Brexit negotiations is adding to the uncertainty. All these elements have increasingly weighed on economic sentiment and are now reflected in moderating business and consumer confidence.
14  Quoted by J.-C. Trichet in “Building Europe, building institutions”, speech delivered on receiving the Karlspreis in Aachen, 2 June 2011. 15  Incidentally, an increasing body of literature emphasises the importance of economic “culture” on economic outcomes. See for instance S. Bützer, C. Jordan and L. Stracca (2013). Macroeconomic imbalances, a question of trust?