At this point, I would like to draw on the image of an anchor once again – because, thanks to the Eurosystem's independence, price stability is anchored at the institutional level, too. A central bank's independence is inexorably linked to its accountability so that the public can know whether an independent central bank is fulfilling its role and not overstepping its mandate.
That said, based on my reading of the accumulating evidence, I believe that trend growth in the economy may well be faster and the structural rate of unemployment lower than I would have thought several years ago. Let me elaborate. First, let’s look at the demand side of the economy. Consider the benchmark revisions to the household saving rate.