ECB alone cannot save Europe: Soc-Gen economist

Singapore

THERE have been calls for the European Central Bank (ECB) to take aggressive action as markets worry that the eurozone is sliding into recession and deflation.

But the ECB alone will not be able to save the economy, Michel Martinez, chief European economist of French bank Societe-Generale, told The Business Times last Friday. "The only way to increase potential growth is through social reforms. That doesn't depend on the ECB. The ECB can only buy time for governments to implement the reforms."