How persistent supply chain disruptions could affect euro area potential output

This box investigates potential long-term effects that current supply shortages could have on euro area potential output growth. Depending on the persistence of supply bottlenecks, firms might consider finding new supply chains. If this happens, sectors that have greatly benefited from international exposure and globalisation in terms of productivity growth might experience a decline in trend total factor productivity. All else being equal, this could lead to a trend decline in potential output growth for the most affected countries. The likelihood of such a scenario is highly difficult to assess. On the one hand, the high sunk costs of establishing global supply chains imply that reshoring would not take place at a larger scale if the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is perceived to be temporary. On the other hand, a substantial shift in the geography of supply chains may occur because supply disruptions are very costly to firms. The challenges presented by this reorganisation process could be exacerbated if the pandemic encourages an increase in protectionism and de-globalisation. This box presents two scenarios, using historical elasticities between global value chain participation and trend total factor productivity growth, to give a flavour of the possible impact the current supply shortages could have on potential output. JEL Classification: E32, F17, F60, O40