, we will ensure the system works with that technology, however it evolves. we are ensuring that the next generation of rtgs service creates a world - leading payments landscape for the uk. we can also be a catalyst and a convener for broader developments. we have been working with the fintech sector, a sector we previously had little to no interaction with. as the bank ’ s executive director for banking, payments and financial resilience, andrew hauser, highlighted here in cambridge late last year, our engagement in the fintech sector has improved our familiarity with fintech products, concepts and firms, and also given fintech firms insights into the emerging questions and needs central banks might have, as policymakers, regulators and operators. in recognition, the bank won ‘ initiative of the year ’ last month from central banking, for the work we did with firms working on new and emerging financial technology. interacting with these innovative disrupters has reminded me that there are reasons to be optimistic about productivity growth in the longer - term, stretching beyond the horizon relevant for monetary policy. we are here in cambridge, home to silicon fen. the city is home to around 1700 science and technology companies, including over 200 biotech companies and a large array of science infrastructure. a survey by our agents across the uk last year suggested that the biggest positive driver of investment intentions was the desire to achieve future efficiency gains. one feature of the drive for efficiency gains has been investment in automation, ai and robotics. according to the oecd, meanwhile, the density of industrial robots in the uk is one of the lowest in the oecd. although this doesn ’ t appear to be a positive news story, it demonstrates the potential the uk has to increase the quantity and quality of capital intensity. investment hauser central banking office for life sciences oecd all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / speeches in new technologies could indeed support a pickup in productivity. and on that positive note, i look forward to the panel discussion and your questions for us. all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / speeches references bell, j ( 2017 ) ‘ life sciences industrial strategy : a report to the government from the life sciences sector ’, 30 august 2017, available at : https : / / www. gov. uk / government / publications / life - sciences - industrial - strategy carney, m. ( 2016 ) opening remarks at the

at the equivalent stage of the recoveries seen in the decades after the 1979 and 1990 recessions respectively. the weakness of and uncertainty around the path of uk productivity is a key driver of these unusual developments, and is therefore a key consideration for monetary policy. for example carney in this speech i use total value added per hour of work to measure of productivity. there are other measures of productivity, but this one is the most commonly used, and quoted, measure. all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / speeches recent developments in uk productivity with that in mind, i thought i could best serve the panel by setting out some of the key characteristics of the weakness in productivity growth. it ’ s important to distinguish between two elements to uk productivity since the global financial crisis. first, the level of productivity fell during the crisis, which history tells us isn ’ t particularly surprising in the wake of a financial crisis. second, productivity growth has remained weak since the crisis, and much weaker than the pre - crisis growth trend. annual productivity growth has averaged around ½pp since 2010, compared with an average growth rate of around 2 % in the decade prior to the crisis ( slide 3 ). productivity growth has also been weaker than expected for other advanced economies. for this reason i ’ ll focus on productivity growth, as this is where the challenge lies. productivity data can be sliced and diced in various different ways, providing different angles from which to understand and assess the recent weakness in productivity growth. in the audience today there are representatives from businesses across the east of england, from all sectors and sizes. no doubt the factors affecting your different businesses and sectors will vary. there are four features that are worth highlighting : first, weakness in productivity relative to pre - crisis isn ’ t unique to the uk. part of that global weakness is likely to reflect weak investment, which fell during the crisis and has only recovered gradually since then. the expansion in global trade and broadening of supply chains in the decade prior to the crisis is likely to have been one factor contributing to robust total factor productivity growth during that period. since then, growth in global trade and tfp have both been subdued. second, the growth ‘ puzzle ’ – the weakness relative to pre - crisis trends – is concentrated in just a few sectors, with the finance and manufacturing sectors accounting for over half of the recent weakness. the monetary policy committee ’ s latest inflation report, published two weeks ago, included a