samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
Improved efficiency is another factor that explains the high level of profitability in the Norwegian business sector. At the same time, there has been an ample supply of foreign labour, which has probably had a dampening impact on wage growth. In addition, increased globalisation in general may have broadened the scope for Norwegian enterprises to relocate production to other countries if labour costs become too high. Such a development probably places some restraint on wage demands among workers in sectors where enterprises have such opportunities. Is it possible to sustain the combination of low employment and low wage shares? First, it partly depends on whether the positive supply-side conditions are sustained. There is probably symmetry here. Should the terms of trade deteriorate, productivity growth slacken and foreign workers return to their home country, the wage share will increase, profits fall and unemployment increase. Second, even without a reversal profits may fall and unemployment rise. The implications of this will depend on how far businesses, in their search for qualified labour, will stretch themselves in bidding up wages. This will also depend on how employees react and their adaptability as well as developments in benefit schemes and other social schemes. Long periods of rapidly rising property prices and debt can be a source of future instability in the real economy. Should monetary policy give weight to developments in property and credit markets beyond their impact on inflation? Low interest rates have fuelled the rise in property prices and debt accumulation.

A common method for imputing rent for owner-occupied housing is to apply the rent for a dwelling of an equivalent type, which is often referred to as rental equivalence. In addition to Norway, statistical agencies in Denmark, the US and Germany, among others, use imputed rent to calculate owner occupants’ housing costs in the consumer price index. The consumer price index is designed to measure price developments for a stream of goods and services. It is the service the dwelling provides that the consumer price index is to capture. House prices are more like asset prices, such as share prices or bond prices. It may nevertheless be interesting to look at the relationship between house price and rents, at least in theory. Let us assume that the rental market and home ownership market are in equilibrium. In this case, home rental prices will reflect the cost of owning a home. What is included in the cost of owning a dwelling? The cost of acquiring a home must obviously be included and the financing cost is determined by the interest rate. Norwegian households primarily finance home purchases with floating-rate mortgages. Long-term interest rates are still important because they provide information about developments in short-term interest rates over time. The long-term interest rate is therefore the most relevant rate. Housing depreciation also has a bearing on user costs. Moreover, the expected increase in the price of a dwelling represents a gain that must be deducted from costs.
This gap may be ascribed to structural rigidities that are thought to have hampered European sectoral specialisation and the spread of information technologies, while labour policies designed to help low-skilled workers re-enter the job market reduced the measured growth of European productivity. Bart Van Ark, Professor at the University of Groningen and Director at the Conference Board, will kick off the discussions of the first session. Bart is one of the first academics to have described these developments through studies based on international comparisons of macroeconomic or sectoral data. His research has brought to light the importance, in the European lag, of the lower gains in total factor productivity in ICT-producing sectors, and especially in the services that use these technologies. The European countries’ inadequate specialisation in ICT-producing sectors limits the gains that may be expected from the sharp drop in the cost of computing power. In addition, the difficulties that services using ICT have in making full use of these technologies could be traced to the structural rigidities of European labour and product markets. One of the issues raised by this first change is the impact of these developments on the competitiveness of the mature economies and on capital flows. There are indeed numerous links between competitiveness and productivity. In the short term, relative changes in unit labour costs are a component of cost competitiveness.

That be as it may, like in many other developing countries the financial sector in Zambia still faces a number of challenges. The Financial Sector Assessment Programme (FSAP) Report of 2002 highlighted a number of these including limited access to financial services by the rural and peri-urban population and doubtful sustainability of financial services in Zambia. In light of these findings, and in recognition of the strategic importance of the development of the financial sector in contributing to sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction, the Government of the republic of Zambia developed and launched the Financial Sector Development Plan (FSDP) in 2004. The FSDP is a comprehensive five year strategy to build and strengthen the financial sector infrastructure to enable it to support economic diversification and sustainable growth. In addition, and in furtherance of the objectives of the FSDP, the BoZ Strategic Plan for 2008 – 2011 has made financial inclusion as one of its key strategic objectives. Under the FSDP two important studies, the FinScope™ Surveys of 2005 and 2007, on the demand for and supply of financial services in Zambia have been completed. These studies have augmented the earlier findings of the FSAP with respect to the key developmental challenges for the financial sector in Zambia.
But the official sector could possibly mitigate their cost by establishing a coherent framework for crisis management, with payment suspensions as one of the tools. None of this is at all to suggest that the issue of standstills - in or outside the Bank of England - is fully articulated and concluded. It is a difficult area requiring contributions from all sides and the  BIS Review 70/2000  8  intellectual argument is ongoing. Finding the right balance between rules and discretion, in this area as in so many, remains a key issue for policymakers. There is work to be done on the modalities of how standstills might operate in different crisis cases. What is the role of the IMF in the standstill process? Does the process need to be underpinned by statute or would non-statutory principles suffice? And when might a standstill require capital controls to guard against leakage? The Bank is currently working on some of these issues, practical and conceptual. I would encourage those among you with an interest in international public policy to help us in addressing them, joining the growing number of, in particular, US academics who are exploring this topic. It is very much a live debate and I have no doubt these issue will be discussed at length, at and around the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in Prague later this month. Conclusion I have now talked myself - quite literally - to a standstill.

But we are under no illusion that, so far at least, we have only skimmed the surface. Skills and time matching There are several obvious frictions in the matching process between volunteers and sociallyworthwhile activities, which potentially reduce the effectiveness of volunteering or the likelihood of it happening in the first place. One is time. It is not surprising that time is the most cited barrier to volunteering (Figure 14). 32 But technology, as in every other aspect of life, can improve the efficiency of matching in ways which can stretch time. We have recently seen the emergence of a number of charities with support what the NCVO have called “micro-volunteering”. For example, “Help from Home” is an initiative to encourage micro-volunteering by allowing people to donate as little as 5 minutes to a worthy cause. For example, you can spend a few minutes describing photos to improve a blind person’s experience of a museum, play an online game in aid of scientific research, or write an email to a sick child. Tasks are given a “pyjama-rating” to drive home the message that it is easy to volunteer. A second friction is appropriately matching the skills of volunteers to those activities where they would be best put to use. PhD economists are no less capable of painting sheds or cleaning riverbeds than the next person. But this is unlikely in general to be the best use of their skills and time, nor the charities.
Should central banks lower interest rates below this bound, the effect on the economy may be contractionary rather than expansionary, owing to the adverse effects on the financial system as a whole.10 The level of this lower bound on interest rates is not directly observable and varies over time according to the financial sector’s situation. In any event, it represents the floor for central bank interest rate cuts. In Europe, the ECB’s deposit facility rate was already set at -0.5% before the COVID-19 crisis.11 In our statements, we have stressed that this rate could be further lowered in the future. Yet, taking a longer perspective, it seems clear that conventional monetary policy — i.e. that based on controlling the short-term interest rate — has less scope for action in the current context than, for example, a few decades ago. 10  See, for example, Brunnermeier and Koby (2018) for a discussion of the effect of interest rates on banks’ profitability and their ability to lend. 11  Arce et al. (2018) estimate that this level of negative rates does not necessarily reduce the supply of credit by European banks and in particular by Spanish ones. 14  The lower bound on interest rates generates significant asymmetry in monetary policy conduct. As I commented earlier, if inflation rises above its target, central banks may increase interest rates as much as necessary in order to “cool” the economy and reduce inflation to levels compatible with their target.

This market power might also lead to high fees for payment transactions that could reduce the revenues – and hence the innovative capabilities – of partner banks. C. Consolidate European integration and sovereignty in the area of payments  The limits of Europe’s integration and sovereignty in the area of payments have been highlighted once again by the entry of tech giants into the field of payments and the emergence of a systemically important project such as the Libra/Diem initiative, which could see non-European participants providing new solutions on the European market. Although implementation of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) project was beneficial in supporting defragmentation for credit transfers and direct debits, non-European participants have been able to leverage regulatory harmonisation in their efforts to conquer the entire European market, whereas domestic participants have struggled to expand beyond their country of origin. Meanwhile, European integration in the area of card payments has failed. The so called international card schemes exclusively manage all cross-border payments within the European Union, not to mention a large share of domestic payments. This situation has created a dependency with multiple consequences. I am talking particularly about the definition and control of technical standards, financial aspects, but also challenges related to payment data, i.e. our capacity to protect these data and enforce compliance with European standards such as the GDPR, if decision-making centres are based outside Europe. II/ What is the Banque de France doing?
Given the global dimension of these building blocks, international cooperation and collaboration is significantly vital to advance these important agendas. Regulatory harmonization Commanding the highest level of international cooperation is particularly vital in the implementation of common prudential standards to safeguard the stability of the Islamic financial system. This will contribute towards the harmonization of the regulatory and supervisory framework in Islamic financial systems across borders. Of importance is advancing the international standards and best practices that takes into account the distinct characteristics of Islamic finance. Such prudential regulation that considers the unique mix of risks associated with Shariah-compliant financial business would enhance the effectiveness of the regulatory outcomes intended for Islamic finance. Much progress has already been made by the IFSB in promulgating an extensive set of prudential standards for the Islamic financial services industry since its establishment in 2002. The IFSB has already introduced standards for capital adequacy, risk management,  2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  corporate governance and Shariah governance. This important work has been significant in promoting international uniformity of regulatory frameworks and international best practices for the Islamic financial system in different jurisdictions. Its significant progress has benefited from the strong international cooperation and collective support from its member countries and global institutions. Indeed, as an evolving global industry with varying stages of development across borders and various business structures and operating models used in the different markets, this close engagement has also allowed for the attainment of balanced views.

I understand LumenLab already has an existing relationship with NUS, and aims to seek more partnerships across industry sectors such as data analytics, market research, pharmaceutical, and technology, to explore new business opportunities. LumenLab is a prime example of how a large enterprise can create an environment like this within its  4  The LTA and A*STAR has been working on the Singapore Autonomous Vehicle Initiative (SAVI) since August 2014, and has successfully rolled out Autonomous Vehicle (AV) trials in One-North in March 2015. 5  Telemedicine is the use of telecommunications and IT to provide remote clinical healthcare. 6  Oscar Health is a New York-based start-up that provides policy holders with telemedicine tools, enables drug and doctor searches, price comparison for healthcare services, and rewards policy holders for hitting activity goals. Obamacare start-up Oscar Health hits a $ billion valuation, Forbes (2015). 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  structure, to foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, and partner with organisations across industry sectors and academia in Singapore to identify opportunities for innovation and growth. Singapore as a smart financial centre Singapore, too, needs to position ourselves for this new future.
It is worth noting, however, that this risk persists because a large part of 6 / 19  BIS central bankers' speeches  promised projects in 2015 were due to be delivered between the last quarter of 2016 and the year 2017. Lately, there has been an increase in the down payment required by the banks to grant a mortgage loan, which could result in more withdrawn promises by those households that were unable to meet the necessary savings to comply. Profitability of the banking system has dropped, as interest spreads have reduced their contribution. This can be explained by a change in composition of the credit portfolio towards lower relative return products—fewer consumer and more mortgage loans—and by the migration towards less risky clients, who are offered lower interest rates. At the same time, the capitalizations of the first half of 2016 drove up the banking system’s capital adequacy ratios (CAR), strengthening their position to deal with adverse economic scenarios. In fact, stress tests indicate that banks have the sufficient capital to face severely stressful conditions. All in all, capital gaps are similar to those in comparable countries. Although several capital increases have been made lately, no changes in banks’ dividend withholding policies have been observed that would allow increasing the capital base endogenously. In an international context, the CAR level of the banking system remains below the 25th percentile in both OECD countries and in the region.

Rumors abounded and the shorting of the Hong Kong dollar ahead of the weekend had become a weekly affair. In the first half of August, Hong Kong’s GDP growth for the first quarter was revised down to - 2.8%. Wall Street was down sharply. The yen fell to over 147 against the US dollar. On the approach of the long weekend in the middle of August, rumors of a devaluation of the RMB and/or the abandoning of the Hong Kong dollar’s link with the US dollar intensified, risking the creation of panic and a breakdown of confidence in the currency. Fact number five: there had been much selling pressure on the Hong Kong dollar in the first half of August. In accordance with the discipline of the currency board arrangements, the HKMA would have had to sell foreign reserves and buy Hong Kong dollars passively. This would have created a serious shortage in the Hong Kong dollar monetary base, thus sending interbank interest rates sharply higher and the stock market sharply lower. Given, however, the need to fund the budget deficit for this financial year, the opportunity was taken to switch some of our accumulated fiscal reserves held in foreign currencies back into Hong Kong dollars, leaving the monetary base and therefore interbank interest rates largely unchanged. The amount of Hong Kong dollars absorbed in this manner was large, exceeding the $ billion accumulated by the hedge funds.
European Monetary Union There are now 9 months until the member countries of the European Union, which meet the requirements of the Maastricht Treaty and become members of the European Monetary Union, adopt a new currency, the euro. There is now little to suggest that this will not happen on January 1, 1999 and the European Central Bank will be established this coming July 1. The Central Bank has thought it necessary to follow these developments closely, not least in order to be able to analyze the impact on Iceland and the options available to Iceland in the new environment. In June 1997, the Central Bank released a report European Monetary Union, Creation and Impact. The Bank will release interim reports on this issue as the occasion warrants. At this stage, it is premature to say what impact the Monetary Union will have on Icelandic exchange rate policy or on the options Iceland will face. I will, nevertheless, say a few words about the subject as it appears from the perspective of the Central Bank. The outlook is now that 11 countries will form the Monetary Union at the outset. These countries account for only 33 percent of Iceland’s external goods trade. The initial impact will therefore not be nearly as significant as has been suggested in the domestic debate. Only when the United Kingdom joins the Monetary Union will more than one half of Iceland’s goods trade be with countries in the union.

You must continue to organize and support the necessary training and mentoring of supervisors so that a pool of capable and technically sound personnel is always available and that greater reliability may be placed on their output. During today and tomorrow several papers will be presented on a variety of sub themes and I anticipate that at the end of this conference some critical imperatives would have been identified to steer us through the current challenges and others looming on the horizon. Our confidence in the role of the CGBS has never been misplaced. I wish you all successful deliberations and trust that your stay here will afford you the opportunity to discover for yourself the beauty of our country and the warmth of the Guyanese people. Welcome once again to all. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3
Svein Gjedrem: On business cycles, monetary policy and property markets Speech by Mr Svein Gjedrem, Governor of Norges Bank (Central Bank of Norway), at the Næringseiendom conference, Bergen, 12 May 2006. Please note that the text below may differ slightly from the actual presentation. The address is based on the assessments presented at Norges Bank’s press conference following the Executive Board’s monetary policy meeting on 26 April, Inflation Report 1/06 and on previous speeches. The  Charts in pdf-format can be found on the Norges Bank’s website. *  *  *  Introduction Monetary policy in Norway is oriented towards low and stable inflation, with annual consumer price inflation of close to 2.5 per cent over time. This is also the most important contribution monetary policy can make to sound economic developments in the long term. Low and stable inflation provides the economy with a nominal anchor. This contributes to predictability for agents who look ahead when they make decisions about saving, investment, wages and prices. In its conduct of monetary policy, Norges Bank operates a flexible inflation targeting regime, so that weight is given to both variability in inflation and variability in output and employment. Flexible inflation targeting builds a bridge between the long-term objective of monetary policy, which is to keep inflation on target and provide an anchor for inflation expectations, and the more short-term objective of stability in the real economy. Growth in the Norwegian economy has been strong since summer 2003.

Economic Tendency Survey of the National Institute of Economic Research Index, average = 100, standard deviation = 10 120  120  110  110  100  100  90  90  80  80  The Economic Tendency Indicator Mean +/- one standard deviation  70  70 00  02  04  06  08  10  12  Source: National Institute of Economic Research  10  BIS central bankers’ speeches  Figure 9. Labour force, employment and unemployment 1000s and percentage of the labour force, 15-74 age group 5 200  12  Labour force (left) Employed (left) Unemployment (right)  5 000  10  4 800  8  4 600  6  4 400  4  4 200  2  4 000  0 01  03  05  07  11  09  Source: Statistics Sweden  Figure 10. Repo rate, mortgage rates for households and bank interest rates for companies Per cent 7  7 Average bank interest rate for companies Average mortgage rate  6  6  Repo rate  5  5  4  4  3  3  2  2  1  1  0  0 06  07  08  09  10  11  12  Note. Per cent, monthly averages.