it requires to estimate what trend in productivity would have been without the single currency. however, i believe an answer emerges quite clearly from this conference, at least in two mutually consistent analyses. in a presentation tomorrow, bugamelli, schivardi and zizza will explain how the euro has fostered the restructuring of firms and productive systems, especially in sectors and countries that had relied most heavily in the past on currency depreciation in order to recoup price competitiveness in the short term. and alesina, ardagna and galasso show how the same discipline has pushed governments to carry out significant reforms in the markets for products and services. the findings point to a substantial positive contribution of the euro in terms of productivity. another case in point is the labor market. thanks to the reforms of the last ten years, it has been possible to overcome the old image of an immobile european labour market – reflected in high rates of unemployment and a low labour force participation rate – for which the term “ eurosclerosis ” was coined. there is empirical evidence of a clear positive association between adoption of the single currency and the increase in employment and decrease in equilibrium unemployment. finally, bank of italy research shows that the reduction of entry barriers in the past decade, thanks to new, less anti - competitive rules, led to an increase in the share of total employment of the sectors where reforms were introduced. sharper competition has increased incumbents ’ productivity and decreased their profit margins, fostered the adoption of ict and reduced price increases. 3. conclusions to conclude, i believe that confronting successfully the challenges posed by the current crisis requires that we continue on the road of greater integration and market openness which has been spurred by the adoption of the euro. in difficult times our economic paradigms may change dramatically and the temptation to go in isolation to deal with the most pressing problems may be understandable but may prove to be disruptive. the benefits of having had the euro for the last 10 years speak by themselves. we want to come out of this crisis able to continue enjoying these benefits.

bwalya k e ng ’ andu : improving access to finance by the smes in zambia remarks by dr bwalya k e ng ’ andu, deputy governor ( operations ) of the bank of zambia, at the signing ceremony for a credit line of us $ 5 million between norfund and bancabc zambia, lusaka, 1 december 2011. * * * your execellency, the norwegian ambassador, mr arve ofstad ; members of the diplomatic corps present ; the chairman of bancabc zambia limited, mr. chanda chileshe ; the managing director of bancabc, mr. dana botha ; head of the norfund southern african office, mr. deepak malik ; distingusihed invited guests ; members of the press ; ladies and gentlemen. let me begin by thanking bancabc for inviting me to be the guest of honour at this very important event, where we will witness the signing of a credit line worth us $ 5 million between bancabc and the norwegian investment fund for developing countries ( norfund ). it is pleasing to know that the credit line to be signed this morning is specifically tailored to provide financial support to small and medium scale enterprises ( smes ). the development of the sme sector and its potential to contribute to aggregate productivity growth, economic growth and development have been stifled by the generally limited access to finance. the credit line to be signed today is an important milestone in improving access to finance by the smes in the country. equally as important as access to finance is the price of financing that is placed at the disposal of smes. the general trend in the market has been to charge smes with high interest rates relative to the large scale corporate sector because of the perceived high risk they are supposed to present. distinguished invited guests, my view is that this presumed high risk profile associated with smes can be effectively managed by banks if they make the necessary effort to understand the sector and build expertise in dealing with its unique characteristics. i trust that you will double up your effort in building the expertise necessary for your bank to be a major lender to the sme sector. the issue of interest rates is of particular concern to us at the central bank. in response to the current situation, the bank of zambia recently took measures aimed at facilitating the reduction in commercial banks ’ lending rates with the view to increasing access to credit by private individuals and business entities. some progress has been made in