Reflecting the seriousness of the shock, the global macroeconomic policy response has been unprecedented. In the wake of the intensification of the crisis, monetary policy rates have been substantially and rapidly reduced in most major economies.
BIS Review 30/2009  1  Today, I would like to reflect on Europe’s cultural identity first by exploring a central concept, a spiritual core; then I’ll review the remarkable diversity of its national cultures; and finally I’ll consider how European cultural identity aspires to universality. II.