the ability and flexibility to use technology to be more productive. higher education has also changed in response, and one of the most important things many of you learned at the university of baltimore was how to learn, adapt, and succeed in the technology - rich environment of most workplaces. the second major development in the job market is globalization, which allows goods and services to be produced wherever it is most economical. offshoring and trade have profoundly affected the u. s. economy. no one knows which jobs and which industries will thrive as globalization continues or how each of you will be affected, but i can say that the education you have earned will provide an important advantage. like technological change, globalization has reinforced the shift away from lower - skilled jobs that require less education to higher - skilled jobs that require college and advanced degrees. the jobs that globalization creates in the united states, serving a global economy of billions of people, are more likely to be filled by those who, like you, have secured the advantage of higher education. - 4while globalization will likely continue and technology will continue to advance, we don ’ t know how fast the economy will grow, what new technologies will be developed, or how quickly and consistently employment will expand. what is considerably more certain, however, is that success will continue to be tied to education, in part because a good education enhances one ’ s ability to adapt to a changing economy. one reason for the increasing economic advantage of a college or graduate degree is the very slow growth of earnings in the last few decades for those with only a high school education. it concerns me, as it should concern all of us, that many are falling behind. improvements in elementary and secondary education can help prepare more people for college and the opportunities college makes available, but for those who do not attend college, we must find other ways to extend economic opportunity to everyone in america. in discussing higher education, you may have noticed that i have spoken in terms of completing your degrees. research shows that a large share of the benefits i have described from higher education comes only to those who graduate. even those completing three or more years of college benefit much less when they don ’ t get a degree. 5 for example, some of you may be worried about paying off loans you have taken out to pay for your education. the good news is that the vast majority of student borrowers who complete their degrees find work that allows them to keep up with their payments and pay off their loans.

had three periods of rising unemployment. our strong population growth has also flattered our headline growth figures. as things currently stand, it looks likely that average growth in per capita incomes over the next quarter of a century will be lower than over the past quarter of a century. we should, though, be capable of stronger growth than we have seen over the past few years. but we can ’ t take this for granted. it is important that we have a sharp focus on the reforms that can make a real difference to our living standards. if we don ’ t do this, we will fall behind. the positive news is that there is no shortage of good ideas here. the not - so - positive news is that there is a shortage of good ideas that can successfully navigate the political process. as we search for the reforms that will make a difference, we need to be aware that the drivers of growth in our economy are changing. natural resources remain our main export earner, but australians are increasingly employed in service industries. right across the spectrum, competitive advantage is increasingly built on technology and management capability. this trend is not going to go away and we need to capitalise on it. there is no magic solution. but, as i said before, the central ingredient lies in investment in human capital. if we are to grow strongly in the future, then that growth will be built just as much on the quality of our ideas as it is on the quality of our natural resources. thank you and i look forward to participating in the panel. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches