For example, a hybrid index of economic and health measures (see figure 2) by economist David Skilling places New Zealand near the top-end of success in responding to the pandemic, with the caveat being the pandemic is not over yet.10 Figure 2 – Landfall Strategy COVID-19 Performance Index Index 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0  Note: The index is an equally weighted index of (1) the average level of Covid restrictions stringency (over the full Covid period) taken from the Blavatnik School at Oxford; (2) the cumulative excess deaths per capita over the Covid period (a calculation from the Economist); and (3) cumulative GDP performance since Q1 2020 (compared to full year GDP in 2019).
There has also been progress through the various euro-area summits in building political structures that, over time, have the prospect of delivering more disciplined fiscal policy than has been the case in the past. Clearly, more will need to be done, and there is still the possibility of a very disorderly outcome in Europe.