4.4  Monetary policy  I must mention, finally, the fourth pillar: monetary policy. It has been said repeatedly, perhaps with exaggeration, that when the history of the crisis which started five years ago is written, the ECB and the Eurosystem will emerge as the saviours of the euro.
Let me first express in more detail what we can learn about the reaction functions of households from micro data. Household survey data link information on income, assets, debt  2  BIS Review 141/2010  and consumption at the household level. To understand consumption and saving behaviour of households, it is crucial to combine these various elements in the analysis.