mario draghi : interview in the guardian interview with mr mario draghi, president of the european central bank, in the guardian, conducted by mr shiv malik on 18 february 2016 and published on 11 march 2016. * * * what does the ecb ’ s own research on incomes and younger generations say? during the great recession, the young ( 16 to 34 ) lost about 5 percent of household income in real terms. that was of course substantial and had a big impact on the personal plans of many young people. but the magnitude was not so different from the losses suffered by other generations, although of course the young do not have the same assets and savings to fall back on in tough economic times. even more worrying was the sharp increase in youth unemployment in europe. are you worried about the position of young adults in europe and is this an increasingly urgent issue? youth unemployment is a tragedy and prevents people from playing a full and meaningful part in society. if every second young person is out of work – as is still the case in some countries in europe – it seriously harms the economy, because people willing to work cannot work and skills are not developed. and it threatens social harmony. unemployment can lead in the long run to increased social problems and ill - health. are you worried about future consumption levels of young adults, as this group – who have been especially “ scarred ” by the global recession – move into middle life? consumption within a society is determined partly by wealth distribution, but even more important is that the young generation can participate in the labour market in a fair way. in many countries the labour market is set up to protect older “ insiders ” – people with permanent, high paid contracts and shielded by strong labour laws. the side effect is that young people are stuck with lower - paid, temporary contracts and get fired first in crisis times. that also means that employers are reluctant to invest in young people, so the incomes of this generation stay lower over their lifetime. what might be the forces at work here – demographics / changing workplaces / fiscalmonetary policy – that mean that young adults appear to be receiving little of the rewards of two and half decades of average economic growth? nobody stays young forever. the crucial question is whether a person can participate fully in the economy over his or her life - time – get a good education, find a job, buy a home for the family. income and wealth follow. what makes me worry is that increasing inequality might prevent people from

mr. greenspan gives a testimony on the global financial system and the role of the imf in the asian crisis testimony of the chairman of the board of governors of the us federal reserve, mr. alan greenspan, before the committee on agriculture of the us house of representatives on 21 / 5 / 98. the global financial system has been evolving rapidly in recent years. new technology has radically reduced the costs of borrowing and lending across traditional national borders, facilitating the development of new instruments and drawing in new players. information is transmitted instantaneously around the world, and huge shifts in the supply and demand for funds naturally follow, resulting in a massive increase in capital flows. this burgeoning global system has been demonstrated to be a highly efficient structure that has significantly facilitated cross - border trade in goods and services and, accordingly, has made a substantial contribution to standards of living worldwide. its efficiency exposes and punishes underlying economic imprudence swiftly and decisively. regrettably, it also appears to have facilitated the transmission of financial disturbances far more effectively than ever before. three years ago, the mexican crisis was the first episode associated with our new high - tech international financial system. the current asian crisis is the second. we do not as yet fully understand the new system ’ s dynamics. we are learning fast, and need to update and modify our institutions and practices to reduce the risks inherent in the new regime. meanwhile, we have had to confront the current crisis with the institutions and techniques we have. many argued that the asian crisis should be allowed to run its course without support from the international monetary fund or the bilateral financial backing of other nations. they asserted that allowing this crisis to play out, while doubtless having additional negative effects on growth in asia, and engendering greater spill - overs onto the rest of the world, would not likely have a large or lasting impact on the united states and the world economy. they may well have been correct in their judgment, and some would argue that events over the past six months have proved them right ; we have so far avoided the type of continuing downward spiral that some feared. there was and is, however, a small but not negligible probability that the upset in east asia could have unexpectedly large negative effects on japan, latin america, and eastern and central europe that, in turn, could have repercussions elsewhere, including the united states. thus, while the probability of such an outcome may be small, its consequences, in