ishrat husain : effectiveness of policies and reforms - a country perspective remarks by mr ishrat husain, governor of the state bank of pakistan, at the world bank oed conference on effectiveness of policies and reforms, washington dc, 4 october 2004. * * * the oed has done all of us a great service by carrying out evaluations of bank country programmes in a systematic manner using a common framework. the findings of these studies should be of value not only to the bank ’ s own operational staff but also to the economic managers of the client countries. as someone who has had the good fortune of working on both sides of the table, i would like to share some of my thoughts with you on the findings of these studies. first, let me begin by saying that i find myself in agreement with some of the conclusions of this report and there are at least three such broad areas : ( a ) i believe, just like the oed report, that aid is neither necessary nor sufficient for good policy. aid can complement and catalyze the political and administrative processes by fostering and reinforcing the development of ownership but aid per se is no substitute for ownership. ( b ) i also think that conditionality per se is ineffective in linking aid with reform because the incentive structure makes it difficult for donors to disengage when conditions are not met. the donors should avoid micromanagement and focus on results. ( c ) i am more emphatic, than the oed is, on the relationship between policy reform and growth. there is strong empirical evidence at country level ( not clearly sorted out in cross - country regressions ) that this relationship is indeed robust. the experience of pakistan since 2000 exemplifies that prudent fiscal balances, appropriate exchange rate, open trade regime, etc. do lead towards good growth outcomes and absence of these policies in the 1990s had decelerated growth and raised poverty level. having agreed with these broad findings let me elaborate on some other nuances and lessons which should be taken seriously at the time of formulation of policy reforms. ( i ) policy reform process is not always linear and we should expect slippages, setbacks and reversals during implementation. this should not throw donors off and they decide to disengage, withdraw or reduce planned assistance. the donors should stay on the course if the long - term direction, framework for action and overall strategy pursued by the country is clearly defined, followed

jean - pierre danthine : market developments, swiss monetary policy and foreign exchange reserve management introductory remarks by mr jean - pierre danthine, member of the governing board of the swiss national bank, at the half - yearly media news conference, berne, 16 june 2011. * * * in my remarks, i would like to examine three topics. first, i will comment on developments in the international financial markets. then i will briefly address the situation in the swiss franc money market and the implementation of monetary policy. finally, i will talk about the management of the foreign exchange reserves. developments in the international financial markets developments in the international bond, share and foreign exchange markets are mixed and, as before, characterised by relatively high volatility. the relatively favourable global economic developments and the fact that the balance sheets and the liquidity situation of corporations outside the financial industry are in relatively good – in some cases very good – shape are having a positive effect. by contrast, the balance sheets of many governments reflect the consequences of crisis measures and increasing structural debt problems. thus, in recent quarters, the financial markets have presented a mixed picture. signs of an improvement in the prevailing mood have been followed by setbacks attributable to the serious impending challenges. at the beginning of the financial crisis, these were mainly concentrated in corporations ’ balance sheets. since then, the market has increasingly shifted its focus towards the risks associated with government debt. such fundamental changes in investor risk assessment influence not just the prices of the affected bonds. they also impact on other investment categories and, therefore, as i will explain later, on the financial markets in general. allow me to begin by addressing the most serious developments. the european sovereign debt crisis is far from over. in comparison to last year, it has again worsened. thus the credit risk premia of euro countries with large debt burdens continued to rise ; compared to the previous year ’ s average value, the risk premia have approximately doubled. that the debt problem in the euro area has worsened is apparent not just on the bond markets. on the foreign exchange market, the chf / eur exchange rate, in particular, reacted strongly, attaining new all - time high levels. since, at the same time, the us dollar was still tending lower, the chf / usd exchange rate also climbed to extreme levels. the weak dollar has to do with doubts about the robustness of the us economy in the wake of diminishing fiscal and monetary