Things changed a lot in those twenty-seven years. Most of you are reasonably familiar with what the model looks like now. But apart from the real graybeards, the three principals and I, most of you were probably in grade school when this work actually started. Let me recall a few stories from the old days.
Whereas global imbalances have been one of the focal points of policymakers over the last years, imbalances have widened also within the euro area. Since the launch of the euro in 1999, the euro area has experienced significant divergence in the external economic positions of its member states.