Key entry points for financial inclusion These could be through: (a)  Direct loans or banking facilities to the targeted vulnerable communities or groups;  (b)  Facilitation of economic activity in a particular geographical area of operations or location;  (c)  Development of local or national infrastructure to enable a particular type of business activity, which could then be practiced or performed by a group or groups which can include women; and  (d)  Providing an enabling environment and/or enhancements for such economic activity to take place. The enabling environment includes laws, regulations, taxation, skills development, duty waivers, subsidies, etc. In this context, tax concessions and duty waivers given to make enterprises be “financially inclusive” are often forgotten. In fact, due to lack of awareness, enhancement of access to finance or financial inclusion that has already taken place in various sectors, and the enabling environment that has been created, are taken for granted with no value attached to them. Women’s contribution to economic development Let me now deal with the importance of women’s contribution to the economic development in Sri Lanka and assess whether financial inclusion of, and access to finance by women are on par with the contribution they make. Women in Sri Lanka have been engaged in economic activities over centuries of history primarily through employment. Due to low productivity and inadequate incomes in the agricultural sector, women in small farm families have moved from unpaid family labour to other occupations, in particular, to garment factories and employment abroad.

Considering those characteristics, adopting any currency other than the euro would have serious drawbacks.8 Therefore, reforming the current regime appears preferable to a radical change should EMU membership be unattainable, at least for the next decade. The fact that the vast majority of small countries either use another country’s currency or pursue some type of rigid fixed exchange rate policy could indicate, however, that a floating currency may face difficulties over the long haul (Chart 3). Ladies and gentlemen: No monetary framework or choice of currency will solve Iceland’s economic problems once and for all. The set of solutions labelled “cure-for-all-ills” is an empty set. Protracted discussions of the contents of an empty set are not only empty in themselves; they are absolutely pointless. Irrespective of the framework, economic policy must be pursued with greater discipline than has been the case to date. However, imposing a framework that forces the authorities to adopt more long-term oriented policies could improve performance. One way to do this is to join a currency union. The experience of Greece and other countries on the periphery of the EMU shows, however, that if economic policies remain short-sighted and solving imminent fiscal problems is delayed for too long, the imposed discipline is anything but palatable. I think Iceland’s experience of its collaboration with the IMF indicates, however, that it would flourish under such discipline. But if EMU membership is not an option, that discipline must come from within.