In fact, they started to increase before the crisis because of structural changes related to digitalisation and globalisation. The skill mismatch index for the euro area labour market in 2007 was almost twice as high as it was in 2004.12 There is also large heterogeneity across the euro area countries.
* * * Good morning, dear Ladies and Gentlemen, First of all, let me thank the organizers for the opportunity to participate in this conference. I must say that I was pretty surprised when I received the invitation to cover the topic of central bank digital currencies – or CBDCs.