This is because we leave the 2010s stuck in an economic regime characterized by low growth and low inflation. Real GDP has averaged just 2% in the US, 1% in the EU and Japan, and halved from 12% to 6% in China as the world's most populous nation rebalances towards a consumer rather than export-led economy. This is despite historic levels of monetary accommodation since 2009: 768 central bank cuts, US$12.4tn of financial asset purchases and interest rates at 5,000-year lows.

As BofA notes in a recent report, "the combination of globalization, lower interest rates and a policy and macro backdrop of maximum liquidity and minimal growth have served to exacerbate wealth inequality, and create a surplus of global savings relative to investment, i.e. extremely low "animal spirits". Higher debt has also failed to deliver higher growth (note corporations and governments global debt up from US$105tn in 2008 and US$255tn in 2019)."