The 17-country Euro-zone's recession-era macro-economic response is, at best, complicated by fiscal and political pressures, which has contributed to slower GDP growth and stoked fears of a double-dip recession. The effectiveness, or lack thereof, of government-led austerity programs adopted by several European countries, namely Greece and Italy, have exacerbated these concerns. A slowdown in private lending due to the 2008 worldwide recession has also impacted GDP growth, as has a dearth of central bank lending, which was typically viewed as the "lender of last resort" in the Euro-zone. Most importantly, the prospects of a sovereign debt default by any one country could have a ripple effect on the Euro and policy responses by the Euro-zone will require a careful hand. They will need to balance continued government involvement through bond purchases and bailouts with the politically-fraught negotiations with other European nations over basic macro-economic policy in the wake of the global downturn.