Firstly, the adjustment was supported by the fact that price dynamics in Germany have been more moderate than in most other EMU countries. On average the German HICP was 1 %-point lower than the average HICP of the other member states of the monetary union. This led to a cumulated price advantage of 8.5 % since 1999.
Measured in terms of unit labour costs, German industry gained an advantage of 15 % since 1999. At this point one sidestep: It’s sometimes argued that higher inflation rates support growth because lower real interest rates foster investment activities.