I would counter that if reforms are ambitious, complementary and credible, 4 they will elicit expectations of a sustained period of higher income, encouraging households to increase consumption and businesses to invest. Recent European Commission forecasts show that euro area countries that have pursued the most ambitious reforms, such as Spain, are now experiencing stronger growth.
•  On a quarterly basis, growth in Canada is expected to pick up to about 2.5 per cent in the second half of this year. Despite this expected pickup, with the weak growth in the second half of 2012, annual average growth is now projected to be 1.5 per cent in 2013.