Graph 6  This expectation has had a major effect on long-term bond yields around the world. In Europe and Japan, investors are paying governments to hold their money for them (Graph 7). The Swiss Government, for example, can borrow for 30 years at a negative interest rate of 0.5 per cent.
However, it seems to me that the increase in productivity mainly reflects cyclical factors, although there is evidence, including suggestive anecdotal evidence, that in some sectors of the European economy and in some countries of the euro area gains in efficiency have been achieved that are of a structural or permanent nature.