the convergence process : a productivity divide between countries and regions ; and household income inequality within countries. if growth and wealth are not spread equitably in european regions and their several communities of citizens, the union will be politically challenged and may even cease to be desired. the report goes one step further to show that, within countries, regional divides are widening. and world bank research found that the main reason for this is low economic potential : lagging regions have poorer institutions, a lower share of skilled workers, and limited access to markets. www. bportugal. pt interestingly, portugal had a contrasting experience in the recent past. an empirical study from universidade do minho shows that, between 2008 and 2015, inequality among the portuguese regions in terms of real gdp per capita actually decreased by 12 %. this is an encouraging performance compared to european peers, especially when compared to those that were implementing financial assistance programmes during that same period. on a less positive note, in 2016, the vast majority of portuguese regions were still below the european union average in terms of gdp per capita in purchasing power parity. this subnational regional analysis is important for two main reasons : • on the one hand, within - countries inequalities in advanced economies have been intensifying – they are the ultimate expression of global and supranational dynamics and are giving rise to growing social and political tension ; • on the other hand, policy instruments tailored to address inequality remain mostly in the hands of national authorities. this brings me to the second point i would like to cover. 2. coping effectively with inequality at the national level the world bank ’ s growing united report argues that the revival of the european convergence machine should be pursued by ensuring equal opportunities for people and firms. this is crucial advice to all policy authorities responsible for addressing inequality : the most effective and sustainable path to reducing inequality is not by redistributing income, but rather by ensuring everyone has comparable opportunities to take part in the generation of income. in other words, although redistribution remains an important complementary tool, the strongest instrument to promote social inclusion is inclusive growth. three institutions are particularly relevant for generating inclusive growth : education, the labour market and the business environment. www. bportugal. pt let me start with education. as already pointed out by many studies, universal access to highquality education ensures equal access to opportunities, and subsequently, equal access to income. but the education system needs to be adequately tailored

key role after the greek election, accelerating the developments by exerting pressure on the greek government through the ela mechanism. are you happy with the impression ( given by various media ) that the ecb is “ manipulating ” elected governments? is this appropriate for a central bank? ( the us president and the chair of the federal reserve, for example, sit on the same side of the table, not on opposite sides ). if you are referring to the decision taken by the governing council on 4 february to suspend our waiver for greek government - related collateral, the intention was exactly the opposite : it was a decision to enforce our rules in a transparent and accountable way, free of political interference. let me explain. given their low credit rating, greek government - related bonds should in principle not be eligible at all as collateral for our refinancing operations. in 2010, the ecb took an extraordinary decision to suspend the minimum rating threshold for such collateral ( the so - called waiver ), and allow them as collateral, on the premise that an eu / imf bis central bankers ’ speeches economic adjustment programme for greece would be in place and implemented. after the election, given the intention of the new government to substantially change or even terminate the programme, the governing council could no longer assume that the programme review would be successfully concluded, and the waiver was lifted. it will of course be reinstated when such a prospect can again be assumed, based on the outcome of the discussions between the greek government and the institutions. i hope this will be the case soon, when these discussions have made progress. as for your comparison with the us : indeed, the ecb is the central bank of greece, and we have shown our commitment by continuing to provide liquidity, as a matter of fact, in increasing amounts, to greek banks, provided that they use it to fund the economy. the central bank funding of greek banks has doubled since end - 2014 and today stands at more than 100 billion euros. but the ecb is also the central bank of 18 other countries and we are bound by the eu treaties, which require us to lend to solvent banks, against adequate collateral, and to refrain from financing governments. this applies to all euro area countries ; greece is no exception in this respect. bis central bankers ’ speeches