emerging economies implies that their growth - generating power is greater than that of advanced economies. this can be grasped by considering historical movements in real gdp growth rates. here, the period of 2000 – 11 will be divided into two sub - periods – before and after the 2007 global financial crisis – namely, 2000 – 07 and 2007 – 11. it is evident that the difference in average growth rates between emerging and advanced economies increased from 3. 9 percent in 2000 – 07 to 5. 3 percent in 2008 – 11. 1 it is true that the growth rate for emerging economies has declined during this period, but their average growth rate decreased only modestly – from 6. 5 percent in 2000 – 07 to 5. 6 percent in 2008 – 11. among them, china ’ s growth rate declined only from 10. 5 percent to 9. 6 percent over that period, and it still exhibits one of the highest economic growth rates in the world. in the case of india, its rate showed an increase of 7. 1 percent to 7. 7 percent over this period. like india ’ s, the growth rate of brazil rose from 3. 5 percent to 3. 8 percent during this period. overall, the growth performance in emerging economies, particularly those of asia, is impressive. bis central bankers ’ speeches this growing gap is mainly attributable to the decline in the average growth rate of advanced economies. their average rate of growth almost reached minus 4 percent in 2009 ; though their subsequent growth became positive, it has remained modest ( chart 6 ). in japan, the average growth rate in the pre - crisis period reached 1. 5 percent, but it dropped to minus 1 percent following the crisis. in particular, its economic activity plunged by 5. 5 percent in 2009. japan managed to achieve a 4. 4 percent growth rate the following year, but the country then suffered further blows in 2011 : the great east japan earthquake and flooding in thailand caused serious damage to supply chains in the manufacturing sector mainly through a sharp curtailment of production and exports. in the united states, the average growth rate dropped from 2. 6 percent in the pre - crisis period to 0. 2 percent following the crisis. the u. s. economy experienced its sharpest decline of 3. 5 percent in 2009, though it has since displayed modest but positive growth. b - 2. favorable fiscal performance emerging economies enjoy a relatively favorable fiscal position, and in sharp contrast to advanced economies they have continued to show an improvement in

clear and specific pledge aimed at actual cpi data made public each month, and not the prospect of it. i would like to emphasize this point, although i am aware that it has been stated explicitly on several occasions in the past. as i have explained, the bank's commitment to easy monetary policy is unequivocal. however, the role of financial markets in delivering its commitment effect through the entire economy is equally great and not to be discounted. a key factor behind their role, i believe, is the " price discovery function. " in other words, the determination of market prices and interest rates at levels that reflect the degree of relevant risks is the most important premise for the efficient distribution of funds required by firms and households. further refinement of the price discovery function through development of innovative transactional techniques in an environment of enhanced market liquidity should lead to more efficient funds allocation and, hopefully, more active investment by the private sector. in this connection, markets for new securitization products such as asset - backed securities ( abss ) have grown in recent years. i strongly hope that securities firms, the main players in the securities market, and other relevant institutions will continue to utilize their ingenuity in developing new and innovative financial instruments that will further invigorate financial markets. the bank, for its part, has recently started purchasing abss to help support this market. it is unprecedented for a central bank to directly accept the credit risk pertaining to private - sector debt, and this is, therefore, a move that we hope will act as a " catalyst " for the autonomous development of the abs market. next, i would like to turn to japan's financial system, which, though still under serious strain, appears to be gradually improving its soundness. nonperforming loans ( npls ) held by financial institutions as a whole remain the most crucial issue. the economic value of loans is being appropriately evaluated. and based on this evaluation, appropriate provisioning and write - offs are being promoted. currently, efforts are being made to enhance concerted action by both the financial and industrial communities. it is notable that parties concerned are becoming increasingly aware of the necessity to utilize corporate managerial resources in achieving structural reforms, rather than wastefully abandoning them. while the work of the industrial revitalization corporation, a public entity, is getting into full swing, unassisted and voluntary actions on the part of the private sector are also growing more widespread. moreover,