economic perspective, the 20th century has been a fantastic century. one of the explanations for this has been the existence of an ability to adapt the economy to new conditions and this has also led to rapidly rising living standards. the changes that many people refer to as the new economy unquestionably present a number of challenges to the swedish economy at the end of the 20th century. the notion of a new economy is not correct ; that is not what it is all about. it is rather a matter of a new challenge in the long series of challenges the swedish economy has had to face ever since the dawn of the industrial era more than a century ago. concepts such as development and winding - up are important components in an ongoing transformation and adaptation of the swedish economy. it is just as important a prerequisite for increasing prosperity now that the world is on its way into a new millennium as it was over a hundred years ago when sweden was industrialised. the smoother we make such a continuous transformation, the greater the chances will be of looking forward to a new fantastic century.

. in practice, it means that we must be constantly developing and improving our ways of working. one expression of this is, for example, that we have begun to publish our own forecasts for the development of the policy rate. and it is probably difficult for a central bank to be clearer than this with regard to its monetary policy intentions – we actually say what we consider to be a well - balanced monetary policy in the coming period. so allow me to briefly pause here and explain clearly my own intentions with regard to the next halfhour. the theme of my speech here today is how the riksbank ’ s independent position, together with a high degree of transparency and efficient communication, contributes to long - term target fulfilment and credibility for monetary policy. key words in this context are evaluation and accountability. it is these different pieces of the puzzle that i now wish to discuss in more detail. the riksbank ’ s position – from bank crisis in the 17th century to independent central bank the fact that we are in this room today is actually rather appropriate. i can tell you an interesting fact here – that the riksbank and the riksdag had a fairly intimate relationship, in geographical terms, for over 70 years, from the early 20th century up until 1976. the riksbank was then located in the building across the street, where the riksdag now has its assembly hall. riksbank officials thus sat almost side by side with the people ’ s elected representatives. now i do not believe one should draw any far - reaching conclusions on the degree of independence for monetary policy on the basis of geographical location – other factors decide this. but for those who have any doubts, i can point out that the riksbank is now at a more “ suitable ” walking distance from the riksdag, a few blocks away. the riksbank is formally an authority under the riksdag. it is stated in the instrument of government, chapter 9, paragraph 13 that “ the riksbank is the central bank of the realm and an authority under the riksdag. the riksbank is responsible for monetary policy. no authority may determine the decisions made by the riksbank on issues relating to monetary policy. ” we have a statutory task to maintain price stability and thus a statutory, independent position. the fact that the central bank is directly accountable to a country ’ s parliament and not to its government can to some extent be interpreted