Persistently low inflation could further complicate the task, particularly in the euro area. Box 1.1 shows that during the last 100 years, there have been very few
episodes of low inflation (with prices increasing by 1 percent or less annually over three years or more).
These few episodes, however, were systematically accompanied by increases in the government debt ratio.
Simulations for the euro area show that if inflation were to remain
very low over a period of five years, the debt-to-GDP ratio would increase by 5¾ percentage points of GDP by the end of 2019 (relative to baseline projections
which incorporate currently planned adjustment efforts).
These results, however, consider only the impact of low inflation on debt dynamics and seigniorage through higher real effective interest rates. The effect on debt
ratios would be significantly larger should persistently low inflation hamper the expected economic recovery.
Stagnant growth would then result in a sustained deterioration of primary balances, compounding the adverse debt dynamics.