Monetary Policy, Macroeconomic Policy Mix And Economic Performance In The Euro Area

In order to explain slow growth and high unemployment in the Euro area, in particular if compared to the USA, the authors follow a macroeconomic policy view focusing on the more restrictive stance of monetary, fiscal and wage policies in the Euro area. In the present paper, they focus on the particular role of monetary policy, because the European Central Bank (ECB) seems to be the major obstacle to higher growth and employment. Analyzing the macroeconomic policy mix, wage policies and fiscal policies are taken into account at the outset, but then the determinants of ECB policies are assessed in more detail.