samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
The situation will worsen with the current crisis, whereby it is vital to strengthen the role of policies aimed at increasing the employability of the more vulnerable workers and preventing unemployment from becoming structural. It is worth noting here that the sectors potentially most affected by this crisis (among which transport, hospitality, leisure and retail) account for almost 20% of employment in our country. But, moreover, these sectors evidence a greater concentration of less skilled workers who are less exposed to IT-, numeracy- and literacy-related tasks. That hampers the employability of these workers in other productive sectors that foreseeably have better growth prospects in the near future. Improving active labour market policies is also necessary over the medium-term horizon. Undoubtedly, technological advances (artificial intelligence, automation and robotics) will create new opportunities and will contribute to much-needed gains in productivity. But some workers will lose their jobs in this transition and will not always be in a position to instantly take advantage of new opportunities. Accordingly, active labour 10  market and training policies, duly re-designed to boost their effectiveness and efficiency, and with the appropriate funds behind them, are a natural lever for ensuring lifelong-learning for workers. This will enable them to acquire new skills, to hone them and to recycle themselves professionally in a changing and foreseeably very demanding environment in terms of technological skills. In sum, these and other reforms should contribute to increasing the economy’s growth potential.

Given the novel nature of the instrument, its amount and the difficulties in reaching agreements in the EU on such multi-faceted matters, I must say that the outcome is very satisfactory in terms of underscoring the shared will to move the European project forward. The challenge now is to convert these funds that will be made available to countries into a fiscal impulse that accompanies and steers the recovery effort needed in our productive system. In this connection it would be advisable to prioritise, in the short term, public investment projects in innovation, technological capital, education and lifelong learning, and projects that contribute to the transition to a more sustainable economy, in line with the strategic guidelines recently laid down by the European authorities. The fact that the recovery fund agreed by the Council focuses on medium and long-term objectives means there is still a significant need in the short term to fund the Member States’ budgetary effort in combating the effects of the pandemic. Also, in the medium term it remains necessary to equip the EU with an appropriate institutional framework to address the asymmetrical effect of economic shocks, e.g. through the launch of a common budgetary macroeconomic stabilisation capacity, a cyclical stabilisation function or a pan-European unemployment insurance scheme. That would influence greater pooling of resources and risks in the budgetary arena and would enhance the resilience of the Union as a whole to negative shocks.
Mario Draghi: Generation € Students' Award 2018 event Introductory remarks by Mr Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, Frankfurt, 11 April 2018  Introduction Ladies and gentlemen, and especially dear students, First of all, let me express congratulations to all the students here for reaching this stage of the Generation € Students’ Award competition. It’s an incredible achievement and you should all be proud of yourselves. Bravo! This gathering is an important opportunity for us to continue our dialogue with you. You are the winners of our euro area-wide competition on monetary policy, which is now in its seventh year. The ECB also organises other initiatives to engage with young people. We have the ECB Youth Dialogues and competitions such as the Euro Video Challenge and the young economists’ session at the Sintra conference. Sintra is a conference that we do annually on a variety of themes around monetary policy and macroeconomics. So far, my impression is that it has been a success, but of course I am biased. I am also aware that my colleagues from the national banks organise events and dialogues with students and schools at national level. All this basically tells you one thing: you are very important because you are our future. You are Europe’s future and that’s why the ECB and the national central banks really give you a lot of attention and get a lot from you.

The past two years have shown that the work of central banks and industry in partnership, at a global level, is productive in developing and supporting best practices. As such, while both the FXWG and MPG have fulfilled their mandate to develop the Code, this spirit of central bank-industry partnership will be maintained, as will the Code itself, in the future by the newly formalized GFXC. The GFXC reflects a significant expansion of cross-border and public-private sector efforts. It is a forum that brings together central banks and market participants via the FXCs—currently representing sixteen regions—to encourage collaboration and communication on FX-related issues, to exchange views on trends and developments in the FX market, and to promote and maintain the FX Global Code. In addition, the work to develop the Code has led to the development of central bank-sponsored FXCs in new regions, some of which have already launched and others that are forthcoming. FXCs, including the one sponsored by the New York Fed, will play important roles both within their own region and in their global engagement via the GFXC. One of the key objectives of the GFXC is to keep abreast of the evolution of the market, and work to ensure that the Code’s principles remain relevant. One area of evolution is electronic trading. Before concluding, I want to spend some time discussing the GFXC’s request for feedback on 4/6  BIS central bankers' speeches  particular aspects related to the use of last look in electronic FX trading.
In addition, there is limited information on regional consumer prices and how much variation there is in regional inflation rates. 8  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/speeches/default.aspx  8  Here in the UK, interest rates were lowered from 5% to 0.5% between September 2008 and March 2009 by the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). This took interest rates to their lowest levels in the Bank of England’s over 300-year history. This was augmented with £ of asset purchases between 2009 and 2012, almost exclusively in government securities. In interest-rate equivalent terms, this amounted to a monetary stimulus worth around 7 percentage points. 16  Exceptional times called for exceptional measures. What impact have these exceptional measures had? One simple way to begin to answer that question is to look at how aggregate activity has evolved in the period since. Chart 11a looks at the growth in inflation-adjusted GDP per head across the UK regions since the MPC’s monetary stimulus was put in place. All regions have experienced a rise in nominal GDP per head over that period, averaging 12%. Not all regions have experienced an inflation-adjusted increase, with growth strongest in London (a rise of 6.6%) and weakest in Northern Ireland (a contraction of 4.6%). Unemployment rates rose sharply during the financial crisis. But they have since fallen across every region in the UK since 2011 and by roughly similar amounts, on average 3 percentage points (Chart 12a).

With new knowledge and new solutions, the sea will continue to be a force that carries us forward. Chart: The new banknotes More than a thousand years ago, the Vikings brought home the idea that Norway should have its own monetary system. Olav Tryggvason was to be the first Norwegian king to have his name stamped on Norwegian coins. Our methods of payment have changed since then – from coins via banknotes and plastic cards to online and mobile payments. But banknotes and coins will stay with us. Norges Bank’s responsibility is to ensure that they are safe to use – based on the most advanced modern technology. And they should be beautiful – as beautiful as the sea that surrounds us. Thank you for your attention. 4/4  BIS central bankers' speeches
It is important to learn the lessons from all of our experiences, both good and bad, to help us better shape the future regulation and supervision of the financial system. And it is with this in mind that I want to comment on our experience with global banks headquartered in Spain. As I will stress throughout my intervention, the global nature of systemically important banks should not be seen as a negative attribute. Globalization allows countries and cultures to learn from each others’ experiences, enriching us in a very broad sense. Of course we want a safer world, but a key foundation of safety is a world that is able to grow. And growth goes hand-in-hand with openness and globalization. In fact, globalization has been the engine of growth in the years before the crisis. And global banks have played a key role in this process and, therefore, in delivering growth to our societies. Some banks have become global because they have accompanied domestic non-financial companies in their international expansion process. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  Our largest global banks became international around fifteen years ago. They went first to Latin America, following their large domestic customers (utilities, oil companies, telecom firms, construction and technology firms and so on) into those new markets. Once in the new markets, the banks were able to familiarize themselves with the needs of other local customers and started to provide banking services to local households and firms.

But capital does help to reinforce the system, because it provides an incentive for institutions to reduce the risk that they pose to the system. Banks which show that they are less risky should be subject to lower requirements, thereby incentivizing responsible and safe behaviour. Instead, those banks that pose higher risks should meet more stringent requirements. Let me stress, yet again, that my point is not about having all global banks following this organizational philosophy. On the contrary, I do believe a diversity of institutions from either a business model or an organizational perspective is needed to ensure that financial globalization promotes global growth. But we should also be aware that, if the regulatory framework in areas such as SIFIs capital surcharge is ill defined, we may end up promoting the convergence of global banks towards the most complex business model of the current landscape. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  In this respect, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that we have recently raised core capital requirements – to 8% – for all institutions operating in Spain, in order to boost the stability of the financial system. However, we have also gone a step further and placed an additional 2% charge – to reach 10% – on those institutions which could potentially create more problems for the supervisor.
The Norwegian government has not always managed to settle its debts, but by little fault of its own as Norway was left with considerable government debt after the secession from Denmark in 1814. The government had no Treasury or liquid assets. Attempts to increase tax revenues failed. Moreover, Norway had little creditworthiness. At the beginning of 1816 the government was not in a position to service its debt. After more than four years, the debt was negotiated down from 6 to 3 million speciedaler. The entire principal was to be repaid over a ten-year period. In January 1820, Norway concluded a loan contract with the finance company Benecke Brothers in Berlin. 6 It was positive for a young nation to be able to borrow, but the terms of the loan were generally perceived as being poor, and the loan was popularly referred to as “tyvelånet” (highway robbery). All government property and current customs revenues were required as collateral. After a period, the “tyvelån” was replaced by a loan on more favourable terms. After the Great Depression in the 1930s, many European states struggled with debt problems. Government debt was written down in Austria, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Turkey in the 1930s and 1940s. Germany was not able to pay war reparations after World War I. Since World War II sovereign defaults have only occurred in developing countries and emerging economies, particularly in the period between 1980 and 2000. Many of the countries pursued a policy that resulted in high inflation.

I am even more pleased to see how many of them are old colleagues and friends. The speakers will all be properly introduced in their sessions. Let me just note that the relevant international organisations are represented at a high level. We have a General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements for the first time in Iceland. We have also a chairman of the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision for the first time in Iceland, as far as I know, although Stefan has of course been in Iceland several times with other hats. We have Deputy Managing Director of the IMF for a second time in Iceland. We have two current governors (not counting me) and two former governors. We have three former deputy governors from G20 countries and we have prominent academics. As you have probably realised there is some double counting in this, which just goes to show the quality of the speakers. Before I make my final remarks, I would like to remind us all that this is a closeddoor invitation-only event. There is no press here, and we are under modified Chatman House rules, which imply that you may use what you hear in your work and even speak about the event, but without attributing to or quoting individual speakers. We wanted to have it this way in order to facilitate frank and open discussion of a difficult topic that many of us are trying to get a handle on.
In this respect, “original sin” is a specific term, which was first coined by Eichengreen and Hausmann 2 in 1999; and which means that countries without fully developed financial markets are obliged to borrow in foreign currencies since borrowing in their national currencies at longer maturities is almost impossible. The other main factor behind the dollarization is related to the market imperfections. Market distortions, fixed exchange rate regime accompanied with high inflation, low institutional quality, poorly developed domestic financial markets, currency-blind financial regulations and safety nets in foreign currency such as deposit insurance can all be evaluated under this framework. Due to those imperfections, moral hazard problems arise and this in turn results in a larger demand for foreign currency. As the studies 3 have showed, the low quality of legal and political institutions and the lack of legal protection for domestic creditor provide incentives for dollarization. Dear Guests, Now, the question is why we should care about dollarization. Before anything else, it increases a country’s vulnerability to shocks. Let me also mention the vulnerabilities of two major sectors in an economy: one arising from dollarization in private sector and the other one having to do with dollarized public debt dynamics. Beginning with the private sector, the dollarized financial systems and the companies’ balance sheets are obviously exposed to solvency risks, due to currency mismatch problem.

The amendments made in the Law of the Central Bank of Turkey in 2001 have been a turning point and instrumental for the efforts to maintain macroeconomic stability. With these amendments, achieving and maintaining price stability is stated as the primary objective of the Central Bank and the Bank acquired its instrumental independence. In fact, the independency has given the Bank the opportunity to set its policies for longer terms, free of political cycles and pressures. As an assurance given to the public to ensure the long term price stability objective, the independence of the Central Bank of Turkey together with its transparent and effective communication policy have increased the credibility of the monetary policy. Besides, the new monetary policy framework implemented first as implicit and then as full-fledged inflation targeting regime together with the floating exchange rate regime have contributed a lot to the decline in dollarization since 2002, as the literature 10 suggests. In this respect, we can observe the findings of the portfolio approach in Turkey very clearly. To be more specific, the volatility of exchange rates has increased due to floating exchange rate regime on the one hand and inflation and its volatility have declined significantly on the other.
One Norwegian krone was worth 0.40323 grams of fine gold. In the latter part of the 1800s, Norway benefited from free trade and free capital movements and became a relatively prosperous country. The standard of living in Norway did not lag behind that of Sweden. The currency union was maintained after the political union with Sweden was dissolved. The agreement lost its practical significance after the gold standard was suspended in 1914. The agreement was not formally terminated until 1972. From an economic viewpoint, the dissolution of the union in 1905 was a painless process. Economic developments were favourable up to World War I. International real interest rates have fallen The interest rate level is lower today than in 1905. In fact, Norges Bank has not allowed the key rate to be this low since the Bank was established in 1816. This partly reflects international conditions. In many countries interest rates were reduced considerably when the economic situation took a turn for the worse early in 2000. Interest rates adjusted for inflation, i.e. real interest rates, are now also low. Low real interest rates may be ascribed to several factors: Inflation has been low for such a long period that savers require a low premium as a hedge against unexpected inflation in the future. In order to prevent an appreciation against the dollar, many Asian central banks have been buying US government bonds, thereby pushing down yields.

It is highly probable there are individual businesses or marginal players that have relied upon the easy conditions of the past decade, who might struggle to adapt when the new tide comes in. Banks’ executive management and boards should challenge themselves and think ahead about what their firm’s place is in this new world. You can’t stop the waves but you can learn to swim. Aside from monetary and financial conditions, another change that is already long under way is the technological revolution in banking…  Operational Resilience There is a growing tide of digitalisation in financial services, with greater prominence of digital players and assets, and it is altering the way people and businesses transact. One often thinks about tides as constant, a rise and fall of waters caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun. But actually it is people who are changing tidal flows by structural changes to rivers, wetlands and nature. The same is true for how digitalisation might change the ecosystem in which banks will have to find their new place. Page 6  Investment banks have operated in the regulated financial sector for a long time and that gives them an advantage over FinTechs, because people got used to trusting their safety as an institution to do business with. That said, FinTechs are competing with banks to develop new, sophisticated, and efficient technology. They are not encumbered by legacy technology infrastructure, and have competitive advantages that have enabled them to innovate quickly.
Sources: Corporation for Technological Development of Capital Goods (CBC) and National Statistics Bureau (INE). 4  BIS Review 39/20086  Copper $ MM; US cents/Lb.) 900  450  600  300  300  150  0  0 96  98  00  02  04  06  III  07  Mining investment (2)  III  08 (1)  Copper price  (1) Figures as of February. (2) Includes investment in buildings, engineering, equipments and others. Sources: Corporation for Technological Development of Capital Goods (CBC) and Bloomberg. For countries that are net exporters of commodities, the impressive price hikes results in a positive terms-of-trade shock. In Chile, terms of trade have increased by almost 70% in the last three years, mostly due to the sharp increase in copper prices. Not surprisingly, this shock has resulted in an appreciation of the real exchange rate. However, the macroeconomic policy framework, as well as particular characteristics of the Chilean mining sector, has mitigated the effects of terms of trade gains on domestic demand, inflation and the exchange rate. Half the income from copper (after tax) goes to foreigners and almost none of it remains in Chilean territory. The other half is from a state-owned enterprise and taxes from private companies. There is a fiscal rule for government spending that stipulates that all income above certain long-term price has to be saved. Government surplus has been 7% on average the last three years, and foreign assets reached about 13% of GDP in 2007.

The Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo is now growing and consolidating day after day under the management of an Albanian professional unlike some time ago when the management of the central bank was the task of a foreign central banker. Meetings of this kind are now turning into a tradition. After holding similar meetings in Korça, Gjirokastra, Shkodra and Saranda we are now being introduced with a new reality of the North-East region, and I believe that the town of Kukës plays a key role in this area. Through these regional meetings we aim to be in touch with the economic and financial reality of different regions in Albania. Given the weather, cultural, social, geographical, demographic, objective and subjective characteristics, each region has different economic and social development opportunities and levels. From this viewpoint, we aim to fully be acquainted with these specific characteristics, identify all the financial and natural resources, formulate “recipes” and other advice which would help in making more rational use of them. Beyond what I previously stated, I would like to clarify that the exploration of the potentials that the different regions have to offer and the identification of their level of use is also essential in terms of the banking system’s activity, in particular of the geographic expansion and financial intermediation. Another major reason motivating the Bank of Albania to organize these meetings relates with the establishment of a more effective communication channel between the Bank of Albania and the public.