bank and non - bank credit card systems. on these same lines, it sets some norms with systemic implications that refer to pension fund investments such as, for example, the percentage of their portfolio that they may invest abroad. in addition, it participates in some decisions in the sphere of prudential regulation for banks, issuing a prior opinion or giving its agreement. for prudential reasons, the bcch can impose restrictions on foreign exchange operations. in the case of foreign trade, it can require the repatriation and liquidation of export revenues and set a term for import coverage while, in the case of financial flows, it can impose reserve requirements as it, in fact, did in the 1990s. the bcch is also authorized to accumulate and maintain international reserves. this has a direct impact on the country ’ s international liquidity position and, in the last instance, on the stability of cross - border financial flows and, therefore, the normal functioning of the domestic financial system. since the bcch ’ s origins, banking regulation and supervision have been entrusted to the superintendency of banks and financial institutions ( sbif ) which depends on the government through the finance ministry. there is also a supervisor for securities and insurance and for pensions. this institutional arrangement has, in general, worked well over the years. in order to ensure the necessary coordination and communication between the different authorities, a committee was created a few years ago that brings together all the financial sector supervisors and in which the bcch also participates. it has allowed the bcch to make its view on issues of systemic importance known to the supervisors. numerous initiatives implemented by the bcch over the past decade underline its firm commitment to financial stability. these include : a ) creation of a large - value payment system based on real time gross settlement ( 2004 ) ; b ) publication of a financial stability report as from 2004 ; c ) stress tests for the banking system and disclosure of their results which are published in the financial stability report ; d ) incorporation of non - bank credit card systems into the regulated system, although with looser norms than those applying to banks ( 2006 ) ; e ) implementation of a household financial survey, carried out countrywide for the first time in 2007 and followed by panel studies for greater santiago in 2008 and 2009, gathering information that has served as the basis for numerous research projects ; f ) participation, along with other authorities, in an initiative to modernize the system for clearing and paying financial securities, which will lead

4, among other countries. in the future, demographic trends will be of greater significance than they used to be in the past, for several reasons. first of all, the population is aging faster in the developed world, yet china will also be affected by this problem due to its one - child policy. second, the past 20 years have seen the global labour market emerge as a result of dramatic progress in information and communication technologies, lower transportation costs and reforms launched in many countries. for instance, richard freeman from harvard university estimates that with the integration of the former soviet bloc this part of the speech is based upon a draft book on globalization written by k rybinski and entitled globalizacja w trzech odsłonach, published at www. rybinski. eu. estimates available at http : / / esa. un. org / unpp /. see e. g. j hawksworth the world in 2050, pricewaterhousecoopers, march 2006. m aguiar et al., the new global challengers. how 100 top companies from rapidly developing economies are changing the world, boston consulting group, may 2006. economies, china and india into the global labour market, the number of workers available globally jumped from 1. 46 billion to 2. 93 billion people, which freeman calls “ the great doubling ” 5. the first major change caused by globalization is therefore the emergence of the global labour market in the 21st century. this has already brought about changes both in businesses ’ operating strategies and employees ’ behaviour. the global labour market shifts jobs to places with the highest effectiveness and lowest cost of manufacturing. for poland, this means a large inflow of foreign direct investment despite a halt in privatization. in the global labour market, employees move to places where they are better paid for their skills. according to various estimates, about 5 % people at working age have already left poland. for estonia, this figure stands at as much as 10 %. in the global economy of the 21st century, technological progress and lower transportation costs have allowed for the business processes or their parts to be easily moved between countries ( a phenomenon frequently described as business process offshoring ). the relative role of crucial factors behind long - term development prospects is thus changing. in the 21st century, the key factor conducive to economic growth will be knowledge – broadly understood as a country ’ s intellectual capital – and this country ’ s ability to drive innovation. if businesses in a given