level of skill, and the result is an apparent excess of supply relative to a declining demand. these changing balances are most evident in the failure of real wages at the lower end of our income distribution to rise during the past quarter - century. the hypothesis that we should be able to improve upon the knowledge that our students acquire as they move from kindergarten to twelfth grade gains some support from international comparisons. a study conducted in 1995 revealed that, although our fourth - grade students were above average in both math and science, by the time they reached their last year of high school they had fallen well below the international average. 1 accordingly, we apparently have quite a distance to go before we catch up. early last century, technological advance required workers with a higher level of cognitive skills - for instance the ability to read manuals, to interpret blueprints, or to understand formulas. youth were pulled from rural areas, where opportunities were limited, into more - productive occupations in business and an advancing manufacturing sector. our educational system responded : in the 1920s and 1930s, high - school enrollment in this country expanded rapidly. it became the job of these institutions to prepare students for work life. in the context of the demands of the economy at that time, the third international math and science study is a project of the international study center, lynch school of education, boston college. a complete set of timss publications is available on the center ’ s web site, http : / / timss. bc. edu / timss1995i / timsspublications. html. a high - school diploma represented the training needed to be successful in most aspects of american enterprise. the economic returns for having a high - school diploma rose and, as a result, high - school enrollment rates climbed. by the time that the united states entered world war ii, the median level of education for a seventeen - year - old was a high - school diploma - an accomplishment that set us apart from other countries. i cannot dismiss the notion that we can learn something from that period and perhaps from other countries. still, i realize that the world was different from today in many ways. societal changes have been numerous and profound, and our schools are being asked to do a great deal more than they have in the past. we need to be forward - looking in order to adapt our educational system to the evolving needs of the economy and the realities of our changing society. one area in which educational investments appear to have

senad softic, ph. d. governor of the central bank of bh sarajevo, 7 june 2020 appreciation speech at the 2019 person of the year award in the category of public administration organized by vec ernji list magazine f irst of all, i would like to thank you for your trust and honor for being nominated and selected for the prestigious person of the year award in this category. this is a great recognition for me personally, but also for the entire central bank of bosnia and herzegovina. that is why gratitude, of course, goes to everyone at the central bank. i would also like to express my special gratitude to my family for the support they have given me all this time. vecernjak's seal and awards for person of the year in various categories are prestigious awards and this happening of vecernji list has outgrown the borders of bh long ago and become a regional event. that is why it is a great honor to be just nominated, let alone to obtain such a recognition. our work has been recognized by international financial institutions and european union institutions, which have assessed the cbbh and its monetary policy as the foundation of macroeconomic stability in bh. two keywords characterize our business : improvement and stability. we continuously improve the work processes and competencies of all our resources, i. e. potentials. at the same time, we are trying to adapt, as much as possible, to the modern trends of central banking and the processes of the european union, in order to be fully compatible. on the other hand, we strive to preserve the core values that the central bank strives for, and that is stability. primarily the stability of our convertible mark, which enjoys the utmost trust of all bh citizens. we are facing times of economic uncertainty. and when the future is uncertain then the pillars of stability are more important than ever before. without strong foundations, there is no future construction. that is why i am convinced that the role of the central bank, as one of the foundations of not only economic, but also overall social stability, will be even greater in the future. we will continue to carry out our mandates, professionally and responsibly, and in the interest of all our citizens. thank you again, congratulations to all nominees and other winners in other categories with the following message : " only by joining forces, maintaining stability and believing in a better tomorrow we can, not only overcome this current crisis,