Thus, if you will allow me to look at a third time span, it is worth noting that we are in fact delivering today a nominal yield curve at historically low levels, as low as ever observed in Europe since the beginning of the 20th century!1 Allow me now to look briefly at the “real” side of the economy.
Long-term potential growth in the euro area is estimated to be between 2% and 2.5%, probably much closer to 2% than to 2.5%, given demographic trends and prevailing market structures, and assuming that economic policies remain unchanged.