or in addition to the lack of demand, as posited by larry summers, and the slowdown in productivity growth prognosticated by bob gordon, a cause which could become the most important of all. that said, the risks of technological unemployment are aptly, if somewhat controversially, summarised in tony atkinson ’ s recent remark that “ the direction of technological change should be an explicit concern of policy - makers, encouraging innovation in a form that increases the employability of workers and emphasises the human dimension of service provision ”. 35 however, what we should do is not so much fear the direct impact of the new technologies and computerisation on jobs, as work to take advantage of the enormous cost reductions that will derive from them. the growth of innovative industries is now the principal engine of growth in employment and in productivity. in an influential book, enrico moretti has shown that every high - tech job created in a particular us metropolitan area has been accompanied by five new jobs in the traditional, low - skilled, low - education sectors. 36 perhaps the level of generality of this result still needs to be established, but it is indicative of the powerful effects of innovation. what is certain is that people will have to work in different ways, in different jobs and different places, over a career span marked by continuous, lifelong learning and training. we must acquire the skills necessary for the twenty - first century : critical thinking, aptitude for problem - solving, creativity and acceptance of innovation, the ability to communicate effectively, and openness to cooperation and group work. this while we continue to invest in knowledge, in schools and universities, with the aim of rapidly overcoming the very serious deficit of “ functional literacy and numeracy ” observed in many countries ( notably in italy ) by the 2013 oecd ’ s programme for the international assessment of adult competencies. 37 indeed, as famously stated by benjamin franklin in his almanac, “ an investment in knowledge pays the best interest ”. this investment in knowledge must necessarily pay b. eichengreen, “ secular stagnation : a review of the issues ”, in teulings and baldwin, op. cit. a. b. atkinson ( 2014 ), “ after piketty? ”, op. cit. e. moretti, the new geography of jobs, boston - new york, houghton mifflin / harcourt, 2012. oecd, “ oecd skills outlook 2013 : first

antonio fazio : franco modigliani address by mr antonio fazio, governor of the bank of italy, at the accademia nazionale dei lincei international conference, rome, 18 february 2005. * 1. * * some personal recollections franco modigliani occupies a central role in 20th century economic analysis. for his work on the theories of saving and finance he was awarded the nobel prize. he made considerable contributions on innumerable topics, as is borne out by the five volumes of his collected papers. his participation in the debate on italian economic policy answered to the profound need of the man and the economist, who, after analyzing problems, threw into the search for solutions the whole weight of his civic passion, his commitment to the welfare of the community, of those he regarded as his fellow citizens. discussions, whether with economic policymakers or with young people eager to learn from him, were always lively and directed to conclusions that were analytically well - founded and socially fair. i first met franco modigliani in 1957. during a trip to italy, the first since the end of the war, he gave a lesson in piazza borghese to professor travaglini ’ s political economy students. we had studied bresciani turroni, including his attempts to make an empirical analysis of the demand for egyptian cotton, and were tackling value and capital. i was struck by franco ’ s description of the way the consumption function was estimated, in the united states, of course. political economy did not end with sophisticated analyses of isoquants, the income effect and the substitution effect : it was a practical science. after graduating and spending some time in the bank of italy ’ s economic research department on a scholarship, i was encouraged by professor cutilli to write to a number of american universities in order to specialize in monetary theory and econometrics. in the end i chose northwestern, because professor modigliani taught there, and it was partly thanks to him that i was admitted. at the beginning of 1962 franco announced to me that he was moving to the massachusetts institute of technology and suggested i should follow him. i did, without hesitating. under paul samuelson ’ s influence, mit was already at the forefront of the academic world, for the originality of its research, the quality of its teaching staff, and the constant wrestling with practical problems ; among the latter, i have pleasure in recalling kennedy