graeme wheeler : central banking in a post - crisis world speech by mr graeme wheeler, governor of the reserve bank of new zealand, to the admirals ’ breakfast club, auckland, 26 october 2012. * ( i ) * * new zealand ’ s vulnerability in international markets in “ les miserables ”, victor hugo wrote of the vulnerability of a little black cat. “ we all know the habit of cats of hesitating in an open doorway – hovering uncertainly at the risk of being crushed by the closing of the door. ” new zealand shares this sense of vulnerability. we are a small economy – around four and a half million people in a world of seven billion, producing output roughly three - quarters of that of queensland. our vulnerability is increased by our habit of not saving enough for our investment needs, resulting in a large accumulation of foreign debt. yet, we face the world with tremendous assets. the world bank suggests that on a per capita basis, new zealand is ranked eighth for natural capital ( pastoral and crop land, forest resources and subsoil etc ) with only oil producing countries ahead of it. we lead the world in renewable natural resource related capital. oecd comparisons of high school student attainment place us seventh among 71 countries. transparency international considers new zealand the least corrupt country in the world, and the world economic forum ranks new zealand among the best for the quality of its institutions, and the efficiency of its product markets and its financial markets. with these assets we should be capable of stronger economic growth. internationally, and particularly in smaller economies, economic growth is driven by the private sector and its ability to compete on global markets. we need to reverse the slowdown in multifactor productivity growth since 2005 and the decline in value added in our tradables sector. and we need to reverse the shift of resources into the public sector and other non - traded activities. our economy is continually buffeted by external shocks. some are natural events, like the catastrophic series of christchurch earthquakes that represent the sixth largest global insurance payout ever. others reflect tectonic shifts in the global economy. these include the rapidly growing importance of east and south asia in international trade and investment, the rising global demand for commodities, and the changing global saving and investment patterns associated with the expanding middle class in developing economies and demographic aging in the western economies and japan. the integration of financial markets, reduction in trade barriers, and global diffusion of skill enhancing technologies, and especially information technologies, mean that

edward m gramlich : workplace financial education remarks by mr edward m gramlich, member of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, at the second meeting of the financial literacy and education commission, washington, dc, 20 may 2004. * * * the federal reserve system has a long history as a promoter and provider of consumer education. an increasingly complex global financial system requires consumers to have a strong working knowledge of financial concepts. to highlight the importance of financial education and to make people aware of the multitude of financial education resources that are available to them, the federal reserve system launched a national public campaign that began in may 2003. but before we launched a public campaign, we began putting together a serious program of workplace education for our own board employees. in november 2002, we sponsored a roundtable with fifteen to twenty employers that we identified as having active workplace education programs. attendees, representing reserve banks, private corporations, and government agencies, discussed goals, plans, and how to get started. this group suggested some key features that we built into our own program. one was to make financial education a lifetime responsibility, for us and our employees. another was to keep information current, relevant, and responsive to changing conditions. a third was to provide information through a range of vehicles. from this session we gathered information on best practices and formed an internal task force to plan, coordinate, and evaluate these efforts. the task force developed ongoing objectives for the program that include • increasing employees ’ understanding of how board - sponsored benefit programs can contribute to short - and long - term financial well - being, • improving employees ’ knowledge of basic financial concepts and improving their capability to make personal finance decisions, • encouraging employees to adopt financial management behaviors that will help them increase their short - and long - term savings and better manage or eliminate debt, and • evaluating the impact of workplace financial education on participation in board benefit programs and financial behavior through appropriate metrics. to carry out our objectives, we use a variety of methods. we host lunch - time seminars, offer morning or afternoon programs, and place articles and educational materials on our internal electronic newsletter. we are also developing an internal web site designed to improve employees ’ knowledge of finance, benefits, health, and career development issues. our programs and educational materials cover a variety of topics. “ making sense of your credit report ” provides information on the factors that can positively or negatively affect a credit report. “ college savings : making education your financial goal ” discusses education as a