In more than 40 past episodes in which GDP fell and private investment declined by 10%, recovery took an average of five years. Europe is four years removed from the onset of recession, but private investment in 2011 was still lower than its 2007 level in 26 of the European Union’s 27 member states.
类似地，从历史标准看，私人投资的复苏也可谓姗姗来迟。在过去40多次GDP下降、私人投资收缩超过10%的经验中，平均复苏时间为五年。如今，欧洲距离衰退开始已经过去了四年，但2011年，27个欧盟成员国中的26个国家，私人投资仍低于2007年的水平。