mr greenspan remarks on some of the economic challenges facing the united states in the new century remarks by mr alan greenspan, chairman of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, before the annual conference of the national community reinvestment coalition, held in washington, dc, on 22 march 2000. * * * over the past several days, you have been engaged in sharing a good deal of practical information on developments in the financial services industry and on the evolving set of laws and regulations that influence the availability of credit in the communities that you serve. no doubt, many of you are here this morning because of your long - standing interest in the federal reserve ’ s implementation of the community reinvestment act ( cra ). however, because we are now in the final stages of drafting regulations on the sunshine provisions of the gramm - leach - bliley act, i am prohibited from commenting at this time. instead, i would like to discuss with you, in broader terms, some of the challenges facing businesses, workers, and consumers - including those in your communities - as the u. s. economy embarks on a new century. as you know, we have recently established a record for the longest economic expansion in this nation ’ s history. in recent years, it has become increasingly clear that this business cycle differs in a very profound way from the cycles that have characterized post - world war ii america. not only has the expansion achieved record length, but it has done so with far stronger growth than expected. a key factor behind this impressive performance has been the remarkable acceleration in labor productivity, with output per hour in the nonfinancial corporate sector increasing since 1995 at nearly double the average pace of the preceding quarter - century. and because technological change has spawned so many opportunities for businesses to expand the range and value of their goods and services, the introduction of new efficiencies has not led to higher unemployment. rather, the recent period of technological innovation has created a vibrant economy in which opportunities for jobs and new businesses have expanded, enhancing the living standards of a large majority of americans. our challenge, then, is to ensure that we - both policymakers and community leaders - extend the favorable macroeconomic performance and strive to bolster the capabilities of all americans to share in the prosperity that is being generated. when historians look back at the latter half of the 1990s a decade or two hence, i suspect that they will conclude that we are now living through a pivotal period

“ innovation for leadership excellency ” means. as educated zambians, we need to offer business solutions where there are none. i am happy that today we are witnessing the launch of this association whose, among other objectives is to offer business solutions. mr president, allow me as i conclude to advise you and your new association to ensure that all members demonstrate high ethical standards and values in your businesses as well as places of work at all times. i urge all of you gathered here today to take ethics seriously in order to enhance efficient and effective delivery of services. a robust and strong level of ethics can be achieved by providing ethics training and sensitisation as a component of continuous professional development. although you are well qualified and are competent in your respective fields, it is vital that you have continuous training including advancement in ethical knowledge. equally there is need to promote and ensure that your members exercise high levels of integrity in whatever they do. as a country, we need professionals with high levels of social and moral awareness so that all of us are aware of the moral obligations and potential impact of our thinking, decisions and actions. we need to be good role models for others in behaviour, attitude and relationships. let us endeavour to act in a way that is professional and that retains the confidence of others at all times. with these few remarks, it is now my honour and privilege to declare the esami mba alumni association zambia chapter officially launched. i thank you.