excessive liquidity and rebuilding fiscal balances : without a doubt, fiscal stimuli and bank rescue measures were warranted, but they have markedly increased debt. a substantial fiscal consolidation is needed in order to maintain confidence in fiscal sustainability – all the more so as demographic challenges are looming. in addition, we have to step up efforts to rebalance economic growth. the global recession and the financial crisis may have dampened the level and / or growth rate of potential output, in which case structural reforms have a role to play. so far, the measures i have listed are based on national policies – even though they concern many countries. but there is also a truly international aspect, namely reducing global imbalances. these constituted an integral part of the global pattern of low interest rates and large capital inflows, particularly into the usa. reducing such imbalances implies the continued implementation of policies that redistribute the pattern of global demand, including exchange rate issues, such as the choice of exchange rate regimes and reserve currencies. hence, there is no time for complacency and policy responses to the crisis should not lose momentum! the imf is working hard on several fronts to help its members combat the crisis. it closely tracks economic and financial developments worldwide, analyses risks and gives policy advice to countries and regions. it has significantly expanded lending to assist emes and low - income economies hit by the crisis. it is also intensifying its collaboration with the fsb ( which brings together central banks, supervisory bodies and international financial institutions ) in order to provide an early warning of macroeconomic and financial risks and the actions needed to address them. in a nutshell, in doing so, the imf aims to foster global cooperation, to secure a stable international monetary system and financial stability, and to promote high employment and sustainable economic growth. the current crisis highlights that an international body like the imf is an indispensable part of the international structures which exist for economic analysis, cooperation and coordination. on dominique strauss - kahn dominique strauss - kahn has been the managing director of the imf since november 2007. this position – together with his economic, political and international expertise – makes him an excellent speaker on the global financial and economic crisis. prior to assuming office at the imf, he was a long - time member of the french national assembly. he served both as minister of economy, finance and industry ( 1997 - 1999 ) and as minister of industry and international trade ( 1991

these facts are hardly surprising as the united states is generally attested a leading position in terms of the factor human capital in highly qualified, research - intensive jobs. however, we should not lose sight of the fact that germany is known as a country with a very good average quality of the factor human capital. this basically favours a broad application of new technologies and their adoption to particular enterprise - specific conditions. what do all these findings now imply for future growth prospects? most of the currently available forecasts agree that an economic recovery is to be expected in germany over the next few years, whereas the pace of expansion in the united states is likely to decelerate, leading to a soft landing. to that extent, a certain convergence of cyclical growth can be expected. however, from the perspective of the debate on the “ new economy ”, the key question is whether the anticipated upswing in germany will be more than cyclical in character and lead to a trend shift in the path of growth - in much the an interpretation of these figures should take into account the fact that direct comparisons are complicated by the different methods to adjust for price developments, especially in the capital goods sector. the depreciation components, which might differ for several reasons, should also be taken into account. the figure relates to aggregate hourly labour productivity. the comparative value for the us corporate sector is 2. 2 %. the term “ new economy ” is also used especially “ to describe the shift from the industrial production of goods towards the provision of knowledge - based services ”. “ the new economy has arrived in euroland ”, goldman sachs, european weekly analyst, 99 / 41, 199, s. 1. science, technology and industry scoreboard 1999. benchmarking knowledge - based economies, oecd ( 1999 ). this type of investment grew by an annual average of just over 8 % in real terms in germany in the nineties. see in particular : tertiarisierung und neue informations - und kommunikationstechnologien, ifo - schnelldienst, 29 / 99, p. 23 - 34. quoted from the federal ministry of education and research, zur technologischen leistungsfahigkeit deutschlands, endbericht 1999, p. 29. same way as in the united states in the nineties. i believe this is possible if the willingness to undertake reforms is followed by action to match. what is of main importance to