important step in promoting the diffusion of technology, and are rightly a recurrent theme of this conference. research has revealed a number of factors that can inhibit competitiveness and impede investment decisions. 9 beyond cyclical and financial factors, such as weak demand, uncertainty and excessive corporate debt levels, 10 structural factors, such as weak economic institutions and rigid product and labour markets, can also play a negative role. to encourage the effective diffusion of technology, structural and macro conditions favouring the market entry and expansion of productive firms, as well as the exit of persistently unproductive firms, need to be in place. to ensure a level playing field for firms in the area of new technology, policies are also needed to settle issues of ownership, tax treatment, property rights, competition and product regulation associated with intellectual assets. reforming insolvency regimes would break the vicious circle of weak banks and zombie firms having an adverse impact on productivity. 11 investment finance that brings me to my last point. the widespread diffusion of technology requires financing that is conducive to innovation and growth. monetary policy has played a key role since the financial crisis by helping to lower financing costs and increase access to finance. it will continue to 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches maintain favourable liquidity conditions and an ample degree of monetary accommodation. but what matters most in the long term is deep and integrated financial markets. equity funding, in particular, is becoming increasingly important, as confirmed by the positive impact of deeper stock markets on growth in high - tech and patent - intensive industries. 12 investment in new technology and intangible assets seems to be more reliant on firms ’ internal funding. 13 this appears to be related to the characteristics of intangible investment, 14 such as the low market value and the sunk cost nature of production, making it harder to use as collateral for external funding. so completing the capital markets union is of paramount importance. we also need more ambitious policies aimed at increasing the supply of private equity, and especially of early - stage venture capital. 15 the development of fintech has the potential to expand access to credit and other financial services, in particular for small businesses. 16 more broadly, to ensure an attractive investment environment in the euro area we should seek to complete the banking union, ensure adherence to fiscal rules and fully implement structural reforms. conclusion let me conclude. boosting productivity growth and ensuring the wide diffusion of technology is crucial to achieving a long - term increase in living standards in

luis de guindos : investment, technological transformation and skills speech by mr luis de guindos, vice - president of the european central bank, at the joint eibecb conference on investment, technological transformation and skills, luxembourg, 28 november 2018. * * * introduction it is an honour to open this joint conference on “ investment, technological transformation and skills ” together with eib president werner hoyer. the euro area economy is continuing to grow. we have now seen almost six consecutive years of expansion, with growth that is broad - based across countries and sectors. during this recovery, the countries that were most affected by the crisis have regained competitiveness thanks to a combination of accommodative monetary policy, fiscal consolidation and structural reforms. but challenges remain in the form of low trend growth compared with other advanced economies, and persistently high public and private debt levels in a number of euro area countries. further efforts are therefore needed to strengthen productivity growth and boost productive investments to lift long - term potential growth. in turn, this higher growth will help reduce debt burdens, create fiscal space and raise long - term equilibrium interest rates, bolstering monetary policy ’ s ability to support macroeconomic stabilisation. in that context, the discussions taking place at this conference are both timely and relevant for policymakers. in the rest of my opening remarks, i want to highlight the potential productivity benefits – and also the challenges – arising from digitalisation. i will also briefly comment on a few areas where policy changes are needed to promote the greater diffusion of technology. digitalisation and its implications for productivity the global economy is transforming fast, with an ever - increasing share of technological and digital content. the proportion of total investment accounted for by intangible assets, reported as intellectual property products in the national accounts, has almost doubled over the last two decades. and not all intangible assets are fully captured in national accounts and corporate balance sheets under current reporting standards. 1 other measures, such as connectivity and digital public services, also show a steady rise. 2 a recent ecb survey of large companies 3 finds that digitalisation is viewed as something that increases productivity, thanks to knowledge - sharing and more efficient production processes. but the impact of digitalisation extends beyond productivity ; it also affects potential output, competition, employment and economic welfare. 4 let me give some examples. automation and the increasing use of robots and artificial intelligence are changing the relative prices of labour and capital, and the allocation of resources