lynn patterson : adjusting to the fall in commodity prices – one step at a time remarks by ms lynn patterson, deputy governor of the bank of canada, to the edmonton chamber of commerce, edmonton, alberta, 30 march 2016. * * * introduction good afternoon. thank you for inviting me here today. it ’ s a pleasure to be in edmonton and speaking to the chamber of commerce. when i accepted this invitation, it took me all of about 10 seconds to decide what my topic would be : the impact of lower commodity prices on canada ’ s economy, which is important to all of us. as business leaders in alberta, you know this better than most because you are experiencing it first - hand. at the bank we have committed a lot of resources to understanding the impact on the economy of the drop in prices, and so i thought it would be helpful to share some of our insights, from a macro perspective, into the adjustment we are facing. oil prices alone are down by well over 60 per cent since the highs we experienced in mid2014. given the supply dynamics that we are currently faced with, it is highly unlikely that we will see those levels again in the coming years. while this price drop is affecting all canadians, it is being felt most acutely here in alberta and other oil - producing regions. we at the bank are well aware of the toll this is taking on firms and the hardship it means for many individuals and families. yet the message that i want to share with you today is that canada ’ s economy is diverse and dynamic enough to achieve, in time, a new balance of economic growth. while energy and other commodities will continue to play a very important role in the domestic economy, we don ’ t expect that they will account for as large a share of our exports as they did in the recent past. 1 i want to focus on three key questions that are top of mind for us at the bank and, most likely, for many of you. first, how do we assess the impact of this shock? second, how will the economy adapt and how long will it take? and third, what will the economic landscape look like when it ’ s done? in answering these questions, i will highlight a simulation of the commodity price shock that we ran through one of our economic models to help us understand the implications for the economy. i will also describe in some detail the insights into the adjustment process that the model gave us. let me begin with some context. as

ewald nowotny : the future of european integration – some economic perspectives opening remarks by prof dr ewald nowotny, governor of the central bank of the republic of austria, at the 39th oenb ( austrian national bank ) annual economic conference on “ the future of european integration : some economic perspectives ”, vienna, 23 may 2011. * * * ladies and gentlemen, i am very pleased to welcome you to the 39th economics conference of the oesterreichische nationalbank here in vienna. i am proud that we have once again managed to prepare a highly interesting program featuring distinguished speakers and discussants from different backgrounds in academia, policy - making and policy - commentating who have in common a vital interest in economic issues. i should like to thank all of them in advance for coming to vienna and for contributing to this year ’ s economics conference. i would also like to take the opportunity to thank the staff members of the oenb for their great efforts in organizing this event. my particular welcome goes to federal minister rudolf hundstorfer, who will address the participants of this year ’ s conference as our first speaker. i am very honored to welcome olli rehn, commissioner for economic and monetary affairs of the european commission, who will join us today. i am also very grateful that lorenzo bini smaghi, member of the executive board of the european central bank, has found the time to be with us today. lorenzo bini smaghi is not only a dear colleague of mine on the governing council of the european central bank, he has also been one of the most eloquent commentators on the future of the european project over the last few months. thank you very much for joining us today. finally, i would like to add that i am very glad to see such a densely packed audience here today. this confirms that this year ’ s conference topic – “ the future of european integration ” – strikes a chord with many people from different walks of life. as you all know, a conference of this size is not arranged within a couple of days. in fact, the lags of transmission between a decision and its visibility, which are well known from monetary policymaking, are also present in organizing a monetary policy conference. sometimes a topic that appears to be timely and urgent in the planning phase of a conference has lost some of its appeal by the time the event actually takes place. this year, however, it was almost the exact opposite. when we