The ECB’s defenders would say that such an outcome is purely hypothetical – and irrelevant – for there is no conflict between stabilizing inflation and sustaining the appropriate level of economic activity. Price stability, according to this view, reduces uncertainty, thereby enabling firms and individuals to take the right decisions, so it is good, not bad, for economic activity.
替欧洲央行辩护的人会说，这样的结果纯粹是假想——而且毫无根据——因为稳定物价和保持适当的经济活动水平之间不存在冲突。在这种人看来，物价稳定可以减少不稳定因素，从而使公司和个人得以做出正确的决定，因此对经济活动有益无害。