Governments in euro-zone countries and the ECB do not accept the idea that the euro zone is close to structural unemployment; what consequences?
Governments in euro-zone countries (other than Germany) and the ECB currently believe that the unemployment rate is still markedly higher than the structural unemployment rate, even though many signals indicate that, on the contrary, the unemployment rate is now close to the structural unemployment rate. This is leading : Governments to maintain an expansionary fiscal policy, with the idea that the fiscal deficit remains markedly higher than the structural fiscal deficit; The ECB to postpone its monetary policy normalisation, with the idea that it still has plenty of time to do so. So a very expansionary policy-mix is being maintained in the euro zone. If the zone in reality is close to structural unemployment and if, as a result, growth can slow down significantly if it falls below potential growth, economic policy will not have any possibility for countercyclical action. We believe there is now a lack of reflection on this issue.