This crisis has shown, however, that the procedures and restraints on public and private behaviour are not always effective. We cannot exclude a housing crisis in one country, excessive private debt in another, a cyclical or trend slowdown in yet another, a gradual loss of competitiveness.
First, there has been the global challenge, stemming from rapid technological advancements and increasingly open and competitive world markets. Second, there is the domestic challenge, arising from the need to unwind the economic imbalances and excesses of the 1970s and 1980s.