. even if the customer cannot be satisfied, they must nevertheless walk away having had a pleasant experience. these might not be what we think of when we think productivity, but they are the real sources of productivity, because they produce improved real value for the same input of labour and materials. how do private firms and government achieve improved productivity? • engage the worker ; • empower the worker ; • motivate the worker ; and • cultivate a community of the workplace, with an emphasis on sharing experiences, teamwork and helping each other to achieve our best performance. bis central bankers ’ speeches the future of our economy is in our hands. we must figure out for ourselves what is the way forward, led by our own wit and resources. each worker can make a positive contribution to their own future and the future of our country, by becoming engaged, motivating and empowering ourselves and those that work with and for us, and caring enough for the welfare and prospects of fellow workers that everyone helps out when the going gets tough. when that becomes the pervasive culture of organisations and the society, we will have become a formidable international competitor and a byword for excellence in the americas, europe and the rest of the world. that must be our steadfast goal. bis central bankers ’ speeches

arendal in 1886. not long afterwards, in the late 1890s, kristiania ( now oslo ) experienced a financial bubble. a favourable international economic situation and the building of railways led to a period of prosperity in the norwegian economy, particularly in the capital. the money market was highly liquid as a result of the inflow of gold, and interest rates were relatively low. growth in banks ’ deposits and lending increased in pace with the money supply. kristiania ’ s population grew and there was an explosive period of construction, of both dwellings and commercial buildings. prices for land, building materials and houses rose dramatically. the crash was triggered in 1899 by a major bankruptcy. the crisis gradually became more acute for norwegian banks, particularly commercial banks. it had lasting consequences for the norwegian financial industry and the economy. the stock market was virtually at a standstill until world war i. the crash compelled norges bank, for the first time in its history, to channel crisis liquidity to the banking industry. bordo, m. d, b. eichengreen and j. kim ( 1998 ). was there really an earlier period of international financial integration comparable to today? nber working papers 6738 mauro, p., sussman, n. and y. yafeh ( 2000 ). emerging market spreads : then versus now. imf working paper. the next financial bubble occurred during world war i. during the first half of the war, in particular, there was strong growth in the norwegian economy. this provided the foundation for a boom that is unparalleled in history. banks ’ lending rose sharply. the build - up of risk in the financial system was far more pronounced than in previous episodes. a strong inflow of gold led to uncontrolled growth in the money supply and inflation at the beginning of the war. in addition, the constraints implicit in the gold standard gradually broke down, and the money supply expanded sharply. the banking crisis came in the wake of a cyclical downturn in the early 1920s and can largely be attributed to the build - up of risk during the boom period. the bulk of bank losses occurred before the introduction of parity policy. the authorities ’ response in response to the extensive banking crises in the interwar period, a financial safety net for banks was introduced in most developed countries. in norway, guarantee funds were introduced for savings banks in 1921 and for commercial banks in 1938. there was also a need for separate rules