economy. moreover, measures aimed at increasing services market competition may have a dampening impact on relative price see blanchard, o. ( 2004 ) : “ the economic future of europe ”, the journal of economic perspectives, vol. 18, pp. 3 - 26 ; and also gordon, r. j. ( 2004 ) : “ two centuries of economic growth : europe chasing the american frontier ”, cepr discussion paper, no. 4415. see, for example, genre, v., r. gomez - salvador and a. lamo ( 2005 ) : “ european women : why do ( n ’ t ) they work ”, ecb working paper series, no 454, march 2005. for a further extension of this topic see european commission ( 2004 ), “ the link between product market reforms and productivity : direct and indirect impacts ”, the eu economy : 2004 review. see for example g. nicoletti and s. scarpetta ( 2003 ) : “ regulation, productivity and growth : oecd evidence ”, oecd economics department working paper no 347, p. cavelaars ( 2003 ), “ does competition enhancement have permanent inflation effects? ”, kyklos, 56 ( 1 ) and m. przybyla and m. roma ( 2005 ), “ does product market competition reduce inflation? evidence from eu countries and sectors ”, ecb working paper no 453. changes in some services sectors and thus temporarily on aggregate inflation. overall, a higher level of competition in the services sector would tend to support more efficient and flexible services markets, facilitate adjustment processes and increase the resilience of the euro area to economic shocks 11. in this context, an internal market for services and the adoption of the services directive would constitute an important step forward. it would remove barriers to cross - border provision of services and make it easier to set up services businesses in other member states. in the eu, some progress has already been made in improving the functioning of product markets. for example, several network industries, like telecommunications and air transport, are now fully or largely open to competition. and the reforms do pay off : the remarkable labour productivity growth performance in some network industries in europe over the last ten years provides a perfect example of the positive impact on labour productivity growth of easing regulations and fostering competition. for example, in the telecommunication sector which was largely liberated in the course of the 1990s, hourly labour productivity grew on average by 8. 5 % in

turmoil has shown that the world – our economies and financial systems – is more complex and more interdependent ; that underlying factors, processes, risks and vulnerabilities can interact in a ways that have not been previously envisaged. it is, therefore, essential to pursue specific research topics and to bring the various strands of work more closely together. this symposium with its varied programme provides a great forum for advancing this objective. with regard to the policy issues i previously highlighted, it would seem to be particularly useful if economic research could further contribute in four specific areas : • the development of models and indicators that help identify growing financial imbalances and emerging vulnerabilities and provide early warning signals ; • the analysis and improvement of incentive structures, especially those associated with the various stages of the securitisation process ; • the construction of effective models for stress - testing of tail and correlated risks, including funding liquidity risk, as well as more realistic models for macro stresstesting ; • the further elaboration of the interactions between the real economy and the financial system, with greater emphasis on the role of financial frictions, the determination of risk, and their effects for the dynamic and stochastic properties of the economy. this list of research topics is not complete, but it is policy - relevant and analytically challenging. in conclusion, i would like to make one final and general point. in pursuing a research agenda, it is important to maintain a broad perspective – to keep in mind and look at the “ big picture ” – as defined by the main policy objectives and key policy functions and by the interconnections of ongoing processes, such as financial integration and innovation, and their implications for economic performance and the attainment of the policy goals of efficiency and stability. precisely because these interconnections and effects are complex, manifold and evolving, a deeper understanding of the fundamental processes is essential. this network, with its theoretical contributions and empirical analysis, can undoubtedly provide valuable and highly appreciated input into the deliberations and decisions of policy - makers. i wish you all the best and an enriching and successful symposium. thank you very much for your attention.