of our policy rates. the irish economy 1 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches as for ireland, economic activity at home slowed noticeably in 2023. the irish economy is still expected to grow over the coming years, albeit at a slower pace. we published our latest quarterly bulletin at the end of december, which sets out our latest assessment of the economy. our forecasts suggest ireland's domestic economy will grow by 2. 5 per cent this year, and by 1. 9 and 2 per cent in 2025 and 2026 respectively. inflation has declined significantly over the course of 2023 and the outlook for inflation is now lower than projections given in our previous forecasts. however, there are a series of general and sector - specific factors that, to varying degrees, underlie recent developments and could affect those current forecasts. first, base effects and a post pandemic normalisation, which mostly relate to the unwinding of the exceptional level of physical investment in the state by multinational enterprises in 2022, as well as in the normalisation of export activity in the pharmaceutical sector post - covid. second, structural factors such as geoeconomic fragmentation in goods and services trade, and capacity constraints in the labour market and in housing, which limit the scope for higher sustainable growth in the domestic economy. third, the general slowdown of activity globally and domestically, as demand is dampened by tighter monetary policy necessary to bring inflation back to sustainable levels. this is already affecting both external and domestic demand developments for ireland, and is contributing to slower growth than would otherwise be the case over the forecast horizon. the resilience of household borrowers in the current economic environment let me turn to the resilience of household borrowers in the current economic environment. there are two key points that i would like to highlight. first, at an aggregate level, the irish household sector has proved resilient in the face of these challenges, and we expect that to continue if economic conditions evolve in line with our forecast. second there are, of course, some borrowers that are more vulnerable and we have been working to ensure that the financial system is ready to deal with cases of financial distress in a consumer focused way. overall, the frameworks we have in place have been working, and we intend to ensure this remains the case. the impact of inflation and rising interest rates on irish household borrowers has been cushioned by nominal income growth, fiscal measures, and the relatively slow passthrou

ishrat husain : future challenges facing south asian economies speech by mr ishrat husain, governor of the state bank of pakistan, at the central bank anniversary lecture 2004, colombo, sri lanka, 26 august 2004. * * * the first decade of the 21st century is bringing about several fundamental structural changes in the economies around the world. south asian economies have to accelerate the pace of internal transformation of their economies if they choose to benefit from the opportunities presented by these structural changes. there is a need to shift from the old paradigm of dependence upon official aid and putting blame on the unjust international economic order for their woes to the new paradigm of becoming an active participant in the emerging globalized economy. what are the key characteristics of this new globalized economy? first and foremost is an open trading environment in which low cost and reliable producers of quality goods and services are able to deliver them just in time will derive maximum gains. the countries in this environment will have to compete for market shares in their quest for selling goods and services to the rest of the world. second, the integration of financial markets and liberal flows of cross border capital particularly foreign direct investment provide ample scope for supplementing domestic savings and raising investment levels to accelerate the pace of growth and poverty reduction. in south asia, the earnings and remittances of workers employed overseas do play a key role in accumulation of net foreign assets. third, rapid changes in information technology and communications can lead to efficiency improvement in the utilization of capital and labour and thereby to total productivity increase. but, at the same time, it places severe burden on the prospects of employment for unskilled labour. fourth, a silent revolution in expectations of the so far voiceless voters is taking place due to a perceptible impact of electronic media and skilful management of these expectations and delivery of tangible results against promises is assuming a new dimension in good governance. this evening i would like to address the following question : to what extent are the south asian economies prepared to face these four major challenges and what is the agenda that they should follow in the next ten years or so? before i share my views on this question, let me offer a few thoughts on the process of decision - making that should be followed by the leaders of south asia in order to bring about the paradigm shift i have talked about. each country must begin by preparing a long - term vision and the road map to translate this vision into action with milestones and timeline