“ productivity and potential output before, during, and after the great recession ( pdf ) ”, working paper series 2014 – 15 ( san francisco : federal reserve bank of san francisco, june ). for a fuller discussion, see, for example, erik brynjolfsson and andrew mcafee ( 2011 ), race against the machine : how the digital revolution is accelerating innovation, driving productivity, and irreversibly transforming employment and the economy ( lexington, mass. : digital frontier press ) ; erik brynjolfsson and andrew mcafee ( 2014 ), the second machine age : work, progress, and prosperity in a time of brilliant technologies ( new york : w. w. norton & company ) ; and martin neil baily, james manyika, and shalabh gupta ( 2013 ), “ u. s. productivity growth : an optimistic perspective ”, international productivity monitor, no. 25 ( spring ), pp. 3 – 12. see also ben bernanke ( 2013 ), “ economic prospects for the long run ”, speech delivered at bard college at simon ’ s rock, great barrington, mass., may 18. recent work includes stijn claessens, m. ayhan kose, and marco e. terrones, “ what happens during recessions, crunches and busts? ( pdf ) ” imf working paper wp / 08 / 274 ( washington : international monetary fund, december ) ; jane haltmaier ( 2012 ), “ do recessions affect potential output? ” international finance discussion papers 1066 ( washington : board of governors of the federal reserve system, december ) ; and nicholas oulton and maria sebastia - barriel ( 2013 ), “ long and short - term effects of the financial crisis on labour productivity, capital and output ”, working paper 470 ( london : bank of england, january ). see dave reifschneider, william wascher, and david wilcox ( 2013 ), “ aggregate supply in the united states : recent developments and implications for the conduct of monetary policy ”, finance and economics discussion series 2013 – 77 ( washington : board of governors of the federal reserve system, november ) ; and christopher j. erceg and andrew t. levin, “ labor force participation and monetary policy in the wake of the great recession ( pdf ) ”, imf working paper wp / 13 / 245 ( washington : international monetary fund, july ). bis central bankers

, however, a lack of access to equity financing is a key factor holding these firms back. advancing the capital markets union must therefore be a cornerstone of the eu's competitiveness strategy. significant efforts have been made over the past decade to move forwards, and i want to pay tribute to the role the european parliament has played in promoting an ambitious, european approach. but vested interests and competing national priorities have hampered progress. now, at the beginning of a new legislative term, we are at a crossroads. the current political momentum needs to be converted into a concrete agenda with clear priorities. and this agenda must be swiftly followed up with genuine actions. 3 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches the ecb's governing council laid out its priorities for european capital markets in a statement in march. 2 let me highlight three key areas where progress is essential. first, we must improve the way we save in europe. in 2022, european household savings exceeded eur 1. 1 trillion. 3 however, around a third of these savings are held in deposits4 – significantly more than in the united states. mobilizing even a small portion of these funds and investing them in european capital markets could greatly contribute to the more than eur 700 billion needed annually to achieve the eu's key strategic objectives. this is also likely to provide better long - term returns for our citizens while improving european companies'access to equity finance. second, we need a single regulatory and supervisory ecosystem that promotes market integration. and third, for eu capital markets to be more attractive to investors and issuers, they need to achieve greater scale and depth. this can only happen through integration – especially in our trading and post - trading infrastructure. conclusion to conclude – the world is changing rapidly, and europe is falling behind. the diagnosis and the remedy are clear – the eu must come together and address its structural challenges to increase its competitiveness. advancing the capital markets union is an important part of this agenda, but not the only one. significant efforts to boost europe's economic resilience and decarbonise the economy will also be needed. this will require substantial investment in the coming years, which needs to come from both private and public sources. progress in these areas will not only enhance europe's ability to withstand future economic shocks, but also help the ecb to maintain price stability. as jacques chirac once observed, " the construction of europe is an art. it is the art of the possible. "