????歐洲經濟要想擺脫低迷，沒有任何捷徑可走。

????雖然新一輪貨幣刺激可能幫助減緩一些癥狀，帶來短期的好轉，卻無法真正達到“治愈”的效果。歐洲要想徹底走出經濟泥潭，必須實施堅定的結構改革以吸引穩定的私人投資。要完成這個任務并不容易，但也不是不可能的。

????上周四公布的歐洲經濟狀況數據描繪出一幅慘淡的圖景。今年第二季度，歐元區總體經濟增長停滯，結束了許多人認為才剛開始萌芽的經濟復蘇。經濟表現不佳的國家包括歐洲最大、最靈活的市場——德國。由于消費者信心疲弱，工業生產萎靡，德國經濟比上一季度萎縮了0.2%。

????在其他歐洲國家，雖然一些邊緣國家的表現令人鼓舞，西班牙的GDP有相對健康的上漲，但總體表現仍令人沮喪。此外，鑒于過去幾年西班牙與其他邊緣國經濟下滑的幅度之大，要想恢復原有的經濟基礎，現在的表現還遠遠不夠。

????隨著令人沮喪的經濟數據的公布，投資者紛紛逃向安全的市場，歐洲的主權債券收益率隨之下跌。德國10年期國債的收益率首次低于1%。投資者們認為，疲弱的GDP數據將促使歐洲央行開始新一輪貨幣刺激，而這一次將通過資產購買計劃實施。

????但歐洲央行并未立即做出反應，這并不意外，因為目前整個歐洲都處在假期。但投資者相信，歐洲央行很快將采取措施，通過增加刺激，解決歐洲核心經濟體增長乏力的問題。

????這或許是正確的，但對于歐洲的長期經濟前景沒有任何助益。這種“大劑量”的貨幣刺激可能會推高利率，但卻無法促進經濟增長，尤其是目前歐洲大陸迫切需要的長期增長。

????以日本為例。日本經濟緩慢而痛苦地衰退了25年。因為日本認為，它可以通過貨幣政策解決經濟問題，期望壞消息很快會消失。當債券收益率低于1%時，日本也開始了一輪接一輪的貨幣刺激和量化寬松，希望能促進經濟增長。十年后，日本經濟依舊未見好轉。上周二公布的第二季度經濟數據顯示，日本當季GDP較上一年縮水了6.8%。雖然很大程度上要歸因于日本國內消費稅上調，但這樣的下降幅度依舊令人意外。

????There is simply no easy fix for Europe’s depressed economy.

????While another healthy dose of monetary stimulus might help bring down the fever and provide some short-term relief, it won’t cure the patient. For that, Europe needs to take on some tough structural reform aimed at attracting a steady stream of private investment. While that’s no easy task, it’s hardly impossible.

????Data released Thursday on the health of Europe’s economy painted a bleak picture. Overall economic growth in the second quarter of the year was flat, effectively ending an economic recovery on the continent some had believed was just in its infancy. Among the economic losers was Germany, Europe’s largest and most resilient market. Its economy contracted 0.2% from the previous quarter on weak consumer sentiment and tepid industrial production.

????As for the rest of the continent, while there was some encouraging news from Europe’s periphery, with Spain posting a relatively healthy uptick in GDP, things, for the most part, were pretty depressing. Given how far the economies of Spain and the rest of the periphery have fallen over the last few years, they’ll need to see much stronger growth if they ever hope to get back on sound economic footing.

????As the sorry economic news hit the tape, sovereign bond yields across the continent fell as investors fled to safety. That increase in demand pushed yields on the German 10-year bond below 1% for the first time ever. Investors were essentially betting that the weak GDP numbers would prod the European Central Bank to set off another round of monetary stimulus, this time through an asset buying program.

????The ECB didn’t react immediately, which isn’t a surprise given that the entire continent is on vacation at the moment. Nevertheless, investors are confident that the central bank will soon move to address the weakness at the heart of Europe’s economy through increased stimulus of some kind.

????That may be true, but it doesn’t shed any light on the fate of Europe’s long-term economic prospects. Such heavy doses of monetary stimulus may move rates, but it won’t foster economic growth on its own, especially the sort of long-term growth needed on the continent.

????Just look at Japan. Its economy has been in a slow and painful decline for the past 25 years. That’s because Japan thought it could solve its economic issues by throwing money at the problem and hoping the bad news would just go away. When bond yields fell below 1%, it too embarked on round after round of monetary stimulus and quantitative easing in the hopes of reigniting growth. A decade later, Japan is no better. It reported a 6.8% (annualized) drop in its GDP on Tuesday for the second quarter. While much of that decrease has been attributed to an increase in the state consumption tax, it remains a sizable move to the downside.