The euro zone always relapses after a recession

In the wake of the 2000-2001 and 2008-2009 recessions, whereas US growth got going again, the euro-zone economy relapsed (in 2002-2003-2004 and 2011-2012-2013) . These relapses are often attributed to excessively rapid fiscal deficit reduction (the case in 2011 , but not 2002), but other, more important mechanisms are also at play: The slow pace of the employment adjustment , as a result of which the labour market deteriorates for several years after a recession; Problems for banks, which restrict lending, weakening housing construction and corporate investment; The fact that monetary policy is slower to become expansionary in the euro zone than in the United States. Two of these four explanations may remain after the COVID crisis: the slow employment adjustment and problems for banks.