The adoption of inflation targeting saw a radical change in the way in which the SARB communicated with the public, focusing on transparency through communication, and ensuring that independence and accountability worked hand in hand. The flexibility of the inflation-targeting framework and its anchoring of public expectations about inflation assisted the country to weather the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009.
It is true that domestic demand in the euro area has not yet reached its pre-2008 crisis levels. Particularly, business investment remained around 15% below its pre-crisis levels, which led to a sharp decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. On top of that, the growth in government expenditure during the last five years was just 0.18%, against 1.8% in the period before the crisis.