In comparison, the stock of euro area FDI in the United States increased by 55%, from € billion to € billion, during the same period. The euro area itself has also become more attractive as a destination for FDI from the BRIC countries: between 1999 and 2005, FDI stocks from the BRIC group in the euro area tripled, from € billion to € billion.
Neither theory nor history establish a clear connection between deflation and poor economic activity. The only evident negative episode seems to be the substantial deflation that occurred during the Great Depression. But at that time prevailing monetary conditions were tight, and no precedent exists of significant deflation under highly expansionary monetary conditions.