An important source of the faster pace of productivity was a surge in capital spending fostered by the development of new technology. Faster productivity growth was among the factors that boosted equity valuations; in turn, larger expected productivity advances and a lower cost of equity capital provided a further stimulus to investment.
In addition to such events, which foster exchanges between distinguished scholars and the ECB, each year we give leading academics an opportunity to gain insights into the policymaking environment of the ECB through our Wim Duisenberg Research Fellowship Programme. For younger researchers we have established a Summer Research Graduate Programme enabling graduate scholars close to finishing their PhD to temporarily join our research department.