This forecast is more problematic, and its level matters: Over the past decade, for example, immigration accounted for approximately one-third of the increase in our workforce. The larger our workforce in 2010 and beyond, the easier producing goods and services for both retirees and active workers will be. Immigration policy will, therefore, be a key component of baby-boom retirement policy.
In the short term, in particular in the euro area, an expansionary monetary policy remains of key importance to supporting aggregate demand and attaining price stability, and to preserving financial stability from debt-deflationary risks. As to the longer term, it is difficult to foresee how the factors affecting real interest rates will evolve; and this uncertainty bears on their current low level.