glenn stevens : overview of the australian economy and future challenges opening statement by mr glenn stevens, governor of the reserve bank of australia, to the house of representatives standing committee on economics, canberra, 26 november 2010. * * * when we last met with the committee in february this year, it was becoming clear that the recovery in the global economy was proceeding faster than many had expected. it was also clear that the strongest performance was in the emerging world, while recoveries in countries that had been at the centre of the financial events of 2007 and 2008 were relatively subdued. global financial markets had continued to improve, but were paying close attention to the rise in sovereign debt in a number of countries. at that time, people were talking about an expansion in global gdp of something like 4 per cent in 2010. as it turns out, it looks like the outcome will be stronger than that : current estimates for the year are about 4¾ per cent, which is above trend. the pattern of growth is still rather uneven. the additional strength has been concentrated in the emerging countries, with growth in china and india running at a pace of around 10 per cent in 2010. in contrast, growth of about 2½ per cent for the g7 group, after a contraction of around 3½ per cent in 2009, will leave a considerable margin of spare capacity and particularly of unemployed labour. financial markets and policymakers have maintained, and indeed increased, their focus on issues of sovereign debt sustainability. first greece, and now ireland have sought financial assistance from european partners and the imf, after a change in economic circumstances and a large rise in market borrowing costs left authorities with little other option, even with deep cuts to spending. across continental europe and the united kingdom, governments are embarking on a path of fiscal consolidation, in order to put public finances on a sounder footing in the face of increased obligations and reduced revenues. these programs will unavoidably have some short - term dampening effects on economic activity, which will likely become clearer during 2011. but the scope of alternative possibilities open to the governments concerned is really rather limited. in this environment it is no surprise that the major central banks are mostly maintaining very low interest rates and in some cases increasing the sizes of their already expanded balance sheets via asset purchases. these actions are designed to impart some further stimulus through reducing long - term interest rates even further or via effects on private - sector balance sheets. yet at the same time many other countries have moved to tighten

karnit flug : productivity in israel – the key to increasing the standard of living : overview and a look ahead speech by dr karnit flug, governor of the bank of israel, at the israel economic association conference “ productivity in israel – the key to increasing the standard of living : overview and a look ahead ”, tel aviv, 1 june 2015. * * * highlights : • macroeconomic policy aims to achieve the potential growth in the short term. potential output is determined on the basis of investment in growth drivers that we first made many years earlier. we need to focus long term policy on an effort to break the productivity barrier, in order to ensure sustainable and inclusive growth, prosperity, and a suitable standard of living. • despite the growth in labor input, the output gap between us and advanced economies isn ’ t closing. this is a result of low capital stock and investment, poor infrastructures, inadequate government investment in research and development, and an inefficient business environment. • expected trends in world trade, global growth, demographics, and human capital development, will reduce the growth of israel ’ s economy in the coming decades. the convergence of employment rates among the arab and ultra - orthodox sectors, and of the relevant educational patterns among the ultra - orthodox, to those of the overall population will be able to reduce the extent of the negative impact on per capita gdp and support a broadening of export industries and destinations. • the economy ’ s relatively good macro situation enables us to focus on dealing with the longer term economic challenges. there are many, complex, challenges, but dealing with them is critical to our success, and to the benefit of the entire population in the coming years. • in order to ensure our economic and social future, we must courageously look at the current situation, and begin even now to work to ensure an increase in productivity that will allow an extended increase in the standard of living of all citizens of the country. israel ’ s economy, as is known, made it through the global crisis better than most other advanced economies, and we benefit from a relatively good macroeconomic situation, among other things due to proper macroeconomic management in the years prior to the crisis, and determined management of policy during and after the crisis. correct macroeconomic policy is obviously a very important component in ensuring growth and prosperity. however, it must be remembered that at any given time, macroeconomic policy acts within a framework of long term economic variables. macroeconomic policy