, in and of itself, increased economic output in the eu by around 3 to 5½ %. 1 this is suggested by studies. by contrast, the united kingdom's exit from the eu, also known as brexit, has so far reduced uk economic output by 6 %, according to a uk study presented this year. 2 in my view, the advantages of a united europe could have become even clearer in the run - up to the european elections. fortunately, a group of firms has highlighted the importance of european integration for prosperity, growth and jobs and has sent a signal for diversity, openness and tolerance. and i, too, always advocate for this view. 1 / 7 bis - central bankers'speeches now it is a matter of upholding the banner of europe and continuing to champion european cooperation. 2 dr hubert temmeyer from openness and the benefits of international cooperation to you, my dear mr temmeyer. and this is just a small step : for thinking in terms of international contexts – and shaping those contexts – has played a major role in your career. you're essentially a textbook example of working in an international setting. but let me start from the beginning. a native of osnabruck, you studied economics in siegen and then moved on to the far north to do research work at the university of kiel and obtain your doctorate. after a little over two years at the federal economics ministry, you joined the bundesbank nearly 33 years ago, namely in the department then known as " international relations ". you were to work on their issues for the next 25 years, of which a total of 17 years were spent at our headquarters in frankfurt. your last post there was deputy head of the international monetary affairs division. you spent three years in paris on secondment to the oecd ; beginning in 2011, you spent five probably particularly prominent years of your career in washington dc working at the international monetary fund ( imf ) as the executive director for germany. there, but also in frankfurt before that, you were very busy with the imf's major quota and governance reform, which was adopted in december 2010 by the imf's governing bodies, i. e. shortly before you became executive director. however, it did not enter into force until the beginning of 2016. that is how long it took for the requisite majority of nations, including the united states, to ratify the amendment to the imf articles of agreement and their

, there are also risks involved in continued low interest rates. if the continuation of low interest rates leads to a substantial rise in long - term interest rates by raising inflation expectations or by generating expectations for a weak dollar, this may give rise to another problem, namely that the fiscal burden increases and in turn the need for adjustments in the government's balance - sheet arises. effects resulting from different sectors making balance - sheet adjustments the difference between the united states and japan in terms of what sectors have to or had to make balance - sheet adjustments can result in considerable differences not only in income transfer effects, but also in the adjustment process. in the case of japan, since it was mainly the corporate sector that had to make balance - sheet adjustments, progress in the adjustment process for the economy overall was achieved through an increase in exports owing to high global economic growth. however, at present, it is difficult for the united states to expect similar help from a substantial rise in its exports, because other advanced economies are also, to a greater or lesser extent, undergoing balance - sheet adjustments. an additional problem is that employees'income has declined more substantially than in previous recessions in the united states. while this may help the recovery in corporate profits, it at the same time entails the risk of a delay in balance - sheet adjustments by households. having said that, i must hastily add that there are elements in the structure of the u. s. economy that will encourage rapid progress in balance - sheet adjustments. the size of necessary balance - sheet adjustments depends on the size of the excess in supply capacity in the overall economy relative to the long - term equilibrium growth rate – that is, the potential growth rate. if expectations for economic growth are high, pressures for balance - sheet adjustments will be small. in this context, the united states has the significant advantage of having a flexible economic structure. if labor and capital shift swiftly from low - productivity sectors to high - productivity sectors, this should sustain high productivity growth in the economy overall. in contrast, reflecting population aging and a falling birth rate, the growth rate of japan's working - age population first declined and then turned negative during the 1990s. moreover, labor and capital mobility was relatively low, which was partly responsible for the gradual decline in productivity growth in the economy overall. as a result, japan's potential growth rate after the bubble burst declined, which protracted the duration of balance sheet adjustments. iii. balance - sheet adjustments and the global economy lastly