20 / 11 / 2020 fostering sustainable growth in europe speech fostering sustainable growth in europe keynote speech by christine lagarde, president of the ecb, at the european banking congress frankfurt am main, 20 november 2020 the coronavirus ( covid - 19 ) pandemic has rightly focused minds on the here and now – on saving lives and securing livelihoods. our immediate priority has been to protect the economy until widespread immunity is achieved. [ 1 ] yet the pandemic also provides the opportunity to reassess how we will organise our economy in the future. today ’ s conference, on the topic of “ towards a new sustainable growth model ”, comes at just the right moment. by necessity, the pandemic has accelerated our wider and more common use of digital technology. we have adjusted how we work, how we shop and how we pay. nearly 50 % of europeans say they have worked from home during the pandemic. e - commerce increased by almost one - fifth during the first lockdown [ 2 ], and it stayed at that level even after restrictions were lifted. we have seen a surge in online payments and a shift towards contactless : about 40 % of respondents to a recent survey say they have reduced their use of cash. such shifts are neither unusual nor unwelcome. major technological advances have been recurring features in our history. two centuries ago, land transport was powered by oats rather than by oil. a century ago, agriculture accounted for almost 60 % of employment in spain, and more than 40 % in france. [ 4 ] last year, the share was less than 4 % in both countries. faster digitalisation offers many benefits. it could lead to a less resource - intensive economy, allowing carbon emissions to be decoupled from economic growth more quickly. it could give a jolt to productivity, especially in europe : consider that it adoption has been a key factor in the united states exhibiting faster productivity growth than europe since the 1990s. faster digitalisation could also democratise access to essential services, such as health and education. in the united states, it is estimated that only 11 % of consumers used telemedicine in 2019, but that number has increased to 46 % during the pandemic and 76 % are interested in using it in the future. but technological transitions have not always been smooth – and that can be a source of anxiety. the decline of previously successful industries has sometimes led to high long - term unemployment and regions

these goals, decisive policy actions are needed. those policies lie beyond the remit of monetary policy, but will certainly affect the environment in which central banks operate. i am confident that european policymakers will find the right way forwards. as antoine de saint - exupery wrote, the “ task is not to foresee the future, but to enable it. ” [ 1 ] lagarde, c. ( 2020 ), “ monetary policy in a pandemic emergency ”, speech at the ecb forum on central banking, 11 november. [ 2 ] in terms of volume of sales. [ 3 ] ecb ( 2020 ), “ impact of the pandemic on cash trends ( impact ) ”, in ecb ( 2020 ), study on the payment attitudes of consumers in the euro area ( space ), forthcoming. [ 4 ] herrendorf, b., rogerson, r. and valentinyi, a. ( 2014 ), “ growth and structural transformation ”, handbook of economic growth, vol. 2b, pp. 855 - 941. [ 5 ] van welsum, d., overmeer, w. and van ark, b. ( 2012 ), “ unlocking the ict growth potential in europe : enabling people and businesses ”, study prepared for the dg communications networks, content & technology, european commission. [ 6 ] mckinsey ( 2020 ), “ telehealth : a quarter - trillion - dollar post - covid - 19 reality? ”, may. [ 7 ] see the box entitled “ digitalisation and eu labour markets : a comparative approach ”, in anderton, r., jarvis, v., labhard, v., morgan, j., petroulakis, f. and vivian, l. ( 2020 ), “ virtually everywhere? digitalisation and the euro area and eu economies ”, occasional paper series, no 244, ecb, june. [ 8 ] graetz, g. and michaels, g. ( 2018 ), “ robots at work ”, review of economics and statistics, vol. 100, no 5, december, pp. 753 - 768 ; bessen, j. and righi, c. ( 2019 ), “ shocking technology : what happens when firms make large it investments? ”, law and economics research paper series, no 19 - 6, boston university school of law, april ; acemoglu, d