I do not suggest that this urgent problem of unemployment can be directly addressed by differential macro-economic stimulus -- most commentators agree that it is rather the result of structural, supply-side rigidities and can only be effectively tackled by greater labour market flexibility. The worry is that the necessary structural changes will occur to varying degrees and at a different pace in different countries itself, resulting in different macroeconomic policy needs. This is why meeting the convergence criteria, in economic substance not just in some formal accounting sense, are crucially important. Without genuinely sustainable convergence -- and I emphasise the word sustainable! -- serious tensions could emerge between different countries living with the single monetary policy. It is true that the prospect of EMU has had a powerful effect on countries’ behaviour -- causing some of them, for example, to address fiscal problems to a degree that might well not have happened without the external incentive of the Maastricht timetable. And some argue that the disciplines of EMU itself will enforce convergent behaviour, including structural adjustment, so that the regional tensions which I have described will not in practice materialise. I am not convinced that one can simply rely upon that happening -- and the longstanding weakness of the economy in the south of Italy, despite a single currency with the North, or the continuing weakness of the East German economy since currency reunification with Western Germany suggest that such behaviour is by no means certain.

We at the Bank of Thailand believe in the pursuit of 1  United Nations. “Our Common Future: World Commission on Environment and Development.” 1987. 1/6  sustainability, that it can be achieved if we maintain our focus on long-term goals. The past year we have seen many welcoming developments in our financial sector. These include, First, a number of measures were introduced to improve financial institutions’ responsibility, such as regulations on credit cards and personal loans to address the issue of household debt, new regulatory framework on market conduct, regulations to enhance financial institution’s corporate governance, and a new code of conduct for banks developed by the banking community; Second, the debt clinic was set up to facilitate multi-creditor debt settlement for indebted individuals so that they can exit from the state of perpetual debt distress; and Third, a number of key financial infrastructures were established to help promote financial inclusion and transition the Thai economy towards the digital era. One in particular is the introduction of PromptPay, which provides efficient access to electronic payment at no cost and has served as a catalyst leading to complete elimination of electronic fund transfer fee by banks. These developments have contributed to efficiency improvement in the financial system; wider access and affordability of financial services, especially to those underserved; and mitigation of the impacts of several long-term issues. Essentially, they help ensure that our financial system can sustainably serve the well-being of the Thai people.