At the same time, unemployment in Germany over the same period averaged just 3.6%, whereas in France it was 5.6% and in Italy 6.4%. Societies gradually converged on a framework whereby monetary policy was removed from the pressures of short-term political agendas and delegated to independent central banks.
A clear social consensus had emerged that price stability was a common good under all circumstances, but its achievement depended on the right institutional framework.