may emerge along national lines. those frictions also reflect underlying macroeconomic differences at the national level, or heterogeneity in financial structures. while, in theory, this provides the ecb with a wide range of options to influence financial conditions, it also complicates the identification and the nature of shocks. shocks may for instance emerge from euro area - wide changes in risk - sentiment. but shocks may also originate from national structural weaknesses. if the central bank would respond to the latter, it intervenes in areas where other players have a responsibility to act. this highlights an important dilemma for monetary policymakers. on the one hand, central banks may see a need to intervene to provide more policy accommodation. but, on the other hand, by doing so they may prolong or even exacerbate underlying problems. lessons learnt for monetary policy strategies i have argued that every challenge and situation calls for its own unique assessment and specific set of instruments. against this backdrop, central bankers will not be able to give you an exhaustive list of what cgfs ( 2019 ), unconventional monetary policy tools : a cross - country analysis. instruments should be used in case of all potential future contingencies. however, i do think that, so far, our experience with the new measures has taught us some broader lessons that are relevant for future monetary policy strategies. one key lesson is that central banks can act forcefully on those fronts where our knowledge is most developed. first, this concerns the conventional monetary policy tools. the ecb has demonstrated that zero is not the effective lower bound for the policy rate. needless to say, uncertainties and challenges remain. while policy rates can go below zero, they may hit what has become known as the reversal rate5 : the level of the interest rate below which the negative effects on the banking sector start outweighing the positive effects. in that situation, lowering rates further may actually imply that monetary transmission becomes impaired. an environment that policymakers do not want to venture in. second, central banks can act forcefully in an environment in which shocks and frictions in the economy can be clearly identified. by reducing the term premium and credit spreads in bonds markets through asset purchases, central banks have significantly eased financial conditions. the extended monetary policy interventions by the ecb taken in the aftermath of the sovereign debt crisis, have removed most financing constraints for borrowing and spending by firms and households. this has supported aggregate demand. at this juncture, one might argue

jean - pierre roth : more growth a must summary of a speech by mr jean - pierre roth, chairman of the governing board of the swiss national bank, at the swiss economic forum, thun, 27 may 2005. the complete speech can be found in german on the swiss national bank ’ s website ( www. snb. ch ). * * * since the mid - 1970s now, economic growth in switzerland has been significantly lower than that of other industrialised nations. in terms of per capita gdp among oecd countries, switzerland lost its leading position during this time, falling back into the main field. economic growth is vital, however, for the sustainability of our social security institutions. demographic shifts will cause the ratio of pensioners to contributors to double in the next 30 years, with the result that tomorrow ’ s generation will be faced with a heavy burden – one that could be considerably lightened by higher growth rates. the soft growth in switzerland is primarily attributable to the lack of competition in the domestic market. there are numerous known ways to boost growth which have proven successful in many other countries. so far, however, switzerland unfortunately has neither grasped the importance of implementing these measures, nor does it have the political will to do so. stronger economic growth can only be achieved by opening our domestic market to competition, contributing to the attractiveness of switzerland as a business centre and strengthening our human capital. the necessary reforms will call for short - term sacrifices from all walks of life, such as the relinquishment of protection and privileges. however, the long - term gains in wealth for the country at large will more than compensate for these short - term difficulties.