How macroeconomic policy has helped or hurt the economy of the Eurozone since the world financial crisis and recession 2008-09.

The world economy in 2008-09 confronted its most downright financial shock that is likely to have considerable implications for the design and operation of economic institutions. Although national financial crises occur relatively periodically, global financial crises are exceptionally rare, this being only the third such global crisis since the Long Depression of 1873-791. Over the past periods, most of the crises have had their roots in developing and emerging countries, often ensuing from abrupt reversals in capital flows, and from loose domestic monetary and fiscal policies. In contrast, the 2008-09 global financial crisis has had its roots in the US following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 as a result of the sustained rise in asset prices, particularly house prices, on the back of excessively accommodative monetary policy and lax lending standards during 2002-2006 coupled with financial innovations that resulted in a large rise in mortgage credit to households, particularly low credit quality households2. This made the economic and financial environment very difficult for the world economy, the global financial system and for central banks3. While within the Eurozone the crisis does not make it to the headlines of the media anymore, except for Greece, it is still in full force