William De Vijlder

In the debate on economic policy in the United States, some observers warn we may be back to the seventies. It was a period of severe shocks – move to floating exchange rates, two major oil crises –, high and accelerating inflation and an increased role for the State.

The ‘great inflation’ of the 1970s had many causes. The policy objective of full employment had already led to high inflation by the end of the 1960s. Two oil shocks and the depreciation of the dollar caused additional increases. The key factor was monetary policy, which was not adapted to the circumstances. It reflected the view that the Fed did not have a mandate to tolerate the sizeable increase in unemployment that might have ensued from the aggressive tightening needed to bring inflation under control. In addition, inflation was considered to be a cost-push phenomenon that could be addressed with wage and price controls. Today’s situation is very different. The Federal Reserve is an independent central bank and inflation expectations are well-anchored. However, letting the economy run hot is reminiscent of the 1960s.  Should inflation be above target for too long, the Federal Reserve will need to have the courage to tighten policy sufficiently despite the potential cost to the economy.

How does doing trade with the United Kingdom look like in a post-Brexit world? A few months after the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the UK came into force on 1 January 2021, what is its impact on companies trade and the economy as a whole? What can Belgian corporates with interests in the UK expect in the future? My colleague Simon Gates and myself are sharing our insights in this video.

The Covid-19 pandemic is having a profound impact on household expenditures. The volume has dropped and its composition has changed significantly. As restrictions are gradually lifted, services such as recreation, food services and accommodation, which have seen a big reduction in demand due to the restrictive measures, could thrive, to the detriment –at least relatively speaking- of spending on goods. For the strength of the early phases of the recovery, pent-up demand is an important factor. It plays a smaller role in the services sector, which could mean that countries with a larger services sector not only have suffered more from restrictive measures but could also face a bigger challenge during the recovery.

Economic statistics for the first part of this year are better than expected, including in Japan and the euro area. Moreover, this development is broadening in terms of sectors. Looking at business surveys, there is a growing feeling of beginning to “see the light at the end of the tunnel”.

In many countries the number of new Covid-19 cases has begun rising again, forcing governments to maintain or tighten health restrictions. This is the case for the Eurozone, among others, where a true rebound in growth and demand has been postponed yet again. The timing of the recovery will depend essentially on the effectiveness of restrictive measures and the acceleration of vaccination campaigns, but also on spillovers effects with some of its trading partners whose economies are picking up more rapidly. The United States is one such country thanks to its successful vaccination campaign and the enormous recovery plan that has just been launched. America’s influence is not limited to providing greater opportunities for European exporters. The upturn in US bond yields has partially carried over to long-term rates in the Eurozone, pushing them higher. This trend largely reflects higher inflation expectations, although the Federal Reserve is convinced that the surge in inflation will be short-lived. Companies and households should welcome the bond markets’ jitters, which clearly signal the sentiment that the economy really is improving.

The emergence of spring mirrors the improvement in economic data in the euro zone. When looking at the recent flash PMIs, one cannot but be impressed by an improvement far bigger than what was expected by the consensus. The manufacturing PMIs are also reaching a very high level and sometimes historical levels. Services have also improved, however the level is still lower than the long-term average.

Since the Great Recession, the monetary base in several advanced economies has seen a considerable increase, driven by the creation of bank reserves at the central bank. Yet, contrary to what had been observed in previous decades, this has not been followed by a significant pick-up of inflation. Following the global financial crisis, the demand of the banking system for central bank reserves increased a lot. This was a reflection of the dire state of the economy and money markets as well as tighter liquidity requirements. Subsequently, quantitative easing caused an increase in reserves on the initiative of the central bank. Going forward, as the economy strengthens, money supply growth and inflation could reconnect on the back of an increase in money velocity or faster credit demand growth. Central banks have the tools to address this, if need be. Clearly, asset markets might be less relaxed about such a prospect.

In recent months, purchasing managers in the euro area and the US have reported a significant increase in input prices as well as longer delivery lags. They reflect the next stage of the disruptive impact of the pandemic with supply struggling to meet the pick-up in demand. According to an Atlanta Fed survey, firms experiencing the most intense disruption tend to be those with the highest expectation of future inflation. It remains to be seen whether this will convince them to raise prices. The Federal Reserve is relaxed about this but, nevertheless, there will be lot of nail-biting in the second half of the year as US inflation data are released in an economy that should be able to close its output gap quickly.

Euro area headline inflation has been in negative territory for several months and core inflation is stuck at a very low level. Unemployment is expected to rise further before starting to decline, so wage increases should remain limited. Does this mean that inflation is bound to remain low for a long time? Not necessarily.

The preliminary estimation for euro area inflation surprised to the upside, with annual core inflation reaching 1.4% in January. Monthly inflation was negative however, at -0.5%. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation data have become very noisy and hence more difficult to interpret. Survey data show rising input prices and lengthening of delivery times, which could exert some upward pressure on inflation. These factors should dissipate during the course of the year. Given the economic slack, any lasting pick-up in inflation should be a very gradual process

With the pace of vaccination roll-out, new infections in many countries and the emergence of variants, there is a risk that restrictions may need to be kept in place. This would induce a delay in the recovery. In the sectors impacted by the restrictions, the difficult times would last longer and could lead to bigger damage. Finally, an international comparison of the recovery pace could have an impact on capital flows and the euro, given that the eurozone is lagging behind.

The introduction of vaccines will enable the global economy to make the shift from a stuttering recovery, shaped by a series of lockdowns and their relaxations, towards a steadier growth trend. A key factor will be the gradual reduction in uncertainty, which will encourage households to spend and businesses to invest. The quicker we reach collective immunity, the stronger this economic momentum will be.

Narratives –the stories people tell about events- may influence behaviour. In future years, several narratives may very well be used when looking back at economic developments in 2020. Big, unanticipated shocks do happen. In terms of monetary policy, a ‘whatever it takes’ attitude prevails. This also applies increasingly to fiscal policy. In terms of financial markets, the dominant attitude towards risky assets is to buy rather than to say ‘bye bye’. With Next Generation EU, the European Union has again demonstrated that, under pressure, it can make big leaps forward. Finally, attention to sustainable growth has become ubiquitous. Some of these narratives provide comfort but several also come with a warning.

Until the very end, 2020 has been a difficult year, to say the least. However, there are reasons to be cautiously hopeful about the economy in 2021. Vaccination should reduce the uncertainty about the economic outlook. Ongoing fiscal and monetary support is also important. However, more than ever, caution is necessary in making forecasts. Reaching herd immunity may take longer than expected and some of the economic consequences of the pandemic may only manifest themselves over time.

Covid-19 represents an exogenous shock to the global economy of unseen proportions in recent decades. The reaction has been swift and agile. Central banks have eased policy and injected liquidity whereas governments have put fiscal discipline aside and used their budgets to bring much-needed support. This has softened the blow from the pandemic. What has also played a role is the agility of companies by adapting their production and/or distribution models to cope with the disruption of supply chains and the impact of restrictions on sales and by making it possible for a lot of their staff to work from home. Most importantly, the development of a vaccine brings hope at the end of a very difficult and challenging year. Vaccination should lead to a lasting economic recovery although questions remain about the possible longer-lasting impact of the pandemic in terms of unemployment and corporate as well as public sector indebtedness.

The prospect of the deployment of a Covid-19 vaccine has raised expectations that the stop-start cycle seen this year will make way for a lasting economic recovery in 2021. There is concern however that bringing the pandemic under control could take more time than is currently assumed in economic projections. Under such a scenario, worries about possible new restrictions would remain elevated, although one can assume that, because of vaccination, these measures would be less strict than before and more local.Nevertheless, in the more exposed sectors, investment and employment could be clear victims.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a decline in inflation and, in most euro area countries, an increase in the inflation dispersion between sectors. It will take considerable time until activity has been restored sufficiently to generate labour market bottlenecks, which –in the absence of exogenous shocks- are a necessary condition to see a broad-based and lasting increase in inflation. This suggests that for the coming years, we should expect inflation to fluctuate around a slowly rising trend. In the course of 2021, the unleashing of pent-up demand –under the assumption that a vaccine is sufficiently widely deployed- could cause a temporary pick-up in inflation. In this respect, a decline in the price elasticity of demand will play a key role.