Page 6 of 12  Second, the recent cyclical improvement in global GDP growth may mask persistent issues around low trend gains in productivity which, if unresolved, could result in economic agents and financial market participants being over-optimistic about future economic activity.
In most of the large economies, both average labour productivity and total factor productivity have slowed in the past decade or so – a trend which, at least in the advanced economies, has predated the global financial crisis. The exact causes of this „secular stagnation‟ are not yet fully understood, and economists disagree on how long it may last.