Second quarter growth figures in the United States and the euro zone confirm the key role of fiscal policy

It is striking to see negative growth in the United States in the first half of 2022, and positive growth in the euro zone in the second quarter of 2022. This difference is not due to monetary policy, which, although more restrictive in the United States, has not had time to curb credit. It is due to fiscal policy, which is very restrictive in 2022 compared to 2021 in the United States, and still expansionary in the euro zone. This shows us that: Fiscal policy , and not just monetary policy, can play a powerful countercyclical role; The ECB will find it very difficult to reduce inflation as long as euro-zone demand is shored up by fiscal policy.