Hence, in practice, they have opted to act forcefully, deploying a very broad package of measures in the fiscal, monetary and prudential areas with the dual aim of mitigating the effects of the crisis in the short term and preventing its prolongation over time. Against this background, fiscal policy has naturally established itself as the first line of defence. The COVID-19 shock calls for support of the incomes and liquidity of the agents most affected, by means of swiftly and temporarily injected funds focused on those agents for which this type of support is a priority. And it is fiscal policy that is the tool most suited to this end. In Spain, in the case of households, this has mainly led to a situation in which the temporary employment adjustment measures enacted by many firms have not fed through to a complete loss of income. At the same time, measures have been deployed to alleviate the situation of the most vulnerable households through several instruments. These have included the aforementioned bank loan moratoria, those relating to the protection of households renting their accommodation, guarantees to maintain certain basic supplies and the activation of specific direct assistance for the most underprivileged. Turning to firms, in addition to appreciably lightening the burden of wage costs and social contributions throughout the state of alert, liquidity has been injected through the deferral of certain tax payments, while measures have been enacted to postpone payments arising on the rental of business premises.
37  Aside from these effects, the estimates available show that potential growth in the Spanish economy is low in comparison with other developed countries. An economy's potential growth, on which the level of welfare in the long term hinges, is the result of the accumulation of the capital and labour factors of production, and the degree of efficiency with which they are combined. The low levels of potential growth in our economy are attributable to both poor total factor productivity and a higher level of structural unemployment. In its recent annual reports,13 the Banco de España has highlighted some avenues of economic policy which, if pursued, could improve the dynamics of these variables in Spain. These initiatives relate to the level of sectoral competition and to the productive structure, tax and regulatory incentives, human capital, R&D and technology, and labour market regulation, inter alia. Here I would like to highlight two areas of action: improving human capital and fostering efficient R&D expenditure, as both could be particularly affected by the situation brought about by COVID-19. As regards human capital, the confinement imposed as a result of the crisis has led to students at different levels of educational attainment ceasing to attend classes in person. This could have significant effects on their academic performance, particularly in lowincome households, where there is a lower possibility of replacing physical access to education.