This might sound fluffier than a GDP-equivalent measure. Yet even the hardest-nosed economist would recognise the existence of those private benefits. Why else would anyone volunteer in the first place! Volunteering is a prime example of revealed preference theory in practice. Surveys of individuals overwhelmingly support this conjecture. The 2006/07 Helping Out survey of volunteers found a range of benefits including enjoyment, satisfaction and achievement, meeting people and making friends, broadening life experience, boosting confidence, reducing stress, improving physical health and learning new skills (Figure 11). The balance of benefits differs across individuals. For example, younger people are most likely to highlight the importance of acquiring new skills and enhancing employment prospects, while older volunteers see the benefits from increased social interaction and improved health. But enjoyment and satisfaction rank high across all volunteer types. This survey evidence is consistent with PBE’s experience. Our economist volunteers are often young. PBE offers the chance to apply existing skills to different sets of problem in very different environments. I think without exception, PBE volunteers have found projects enjoyable and satisfying – and, especially among government economists, liberating too. Digging a little deeper, these self-reported benefits appear to fall roughly into three categories: enhanced well-being, health benefits and increased skills and employability. It is worth considering the evidence on each in turn. (a)  Enhanced well-being  There are various ways of assessing the impact of volunteering on individual well-being. These include “stated preference” surveys, where people are asked directly about how factors affect their well-being.

In this respect, I must stress that the Basle Committee, as illustrated by the new Capital Accord, is encouraging banks to use more sophisticated and accurate risk measurements techniques. In addition, supervisors might help –and obviously they are already helping- to spread the idea that financial institutions should round out their current range of risk management tools to include extensive use of stress testing. This technique offers a better reflection of the varying situations of institutions and of the diverse perceptions that institutions have of exceptional events. The application of stress testing techniques and their results are thus inherently more diversified than those resulting from methods based on the value-at-risk approach. These are only examples of options to help improve the functioning of markets. There is probably some merit in an overall review of regulatory, accounting and tax rules and regulations, as well as of codes of good conduct and good practices, and of structural developments of market themselves, to identify possible amendments and improvements that could help protect and enhance the behavioural and conceptual diversity of modern financial markets. In conclusion, let me stress the important role played by central banks in preserving monetary and financial stability in an increasingly globalised world. The recent years have shown the benefits of monetary stability in terms of growth in a globalised world. It is of course closely linked to central bank’s independence, which is no longer a matter of debate.