Each of these policy approaches involves the provision of credit or the purchase of debt securities by the Federal Reserve, which collectively have resulted in a substantial expansion in the size of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet. The second portion of my remarks addresses some issues raised by the changes in the size of the Fed's balance sheet.
In many advanced economies and in the euro area in particular, growth in hours worked per capita looks set to shrink, in the long run, due to adverse demographics and a falling working age population.