me to tell you this. you face the challenges of inequitable growth every day through your work. and that ’ s why i ’ d like to talk about the role we can play to support you create a new york city that benefits every part of the community. when i think about our work at the new york fed, both today and going forward, it boils down to three things : we connect organizations with data and research to amplify the power of their work, we convene stakeholders to share experiences and best practices, and we are a catalyst for initiatives and approaches that help tackle some of the most complex challenges confronting our communities. connect some of our greatest assets are our data, analysis, and research. and i don ’ t say that only because i am an economist by training! data is at its best when it leads to meaningful action. i just came back from a trip to puerto rico and the u. s. virgin islands, which are part of the new york fed ’ s district. the overwhelming feedback i received from community leaders there was how useful they found our research reports for thinking about how to strengthen their local economy. an example closer to home is the work we do looking at the credit behavior of households at the zip code level. analysis from the new york fed is used by financial empowerment centers across new york city to support people on low and middle incomes get out of financial trouble and build a credit profile. it also acts as a barometer for the success of programs, which helps practitioners learn which interventions are most effective. 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches convene as well as connecting people with research and data, we play an important role creating spaces where different stakeholders convene, discuss the challenges and opportunities facing their communities, and share best practices. this is where our workforce development program comes in, and it ’ s an area where federal reserve banks from across the country have been collaborating to share knowledge among key stakeholders. the work we ’ re doing bringing together schools and local employers is also in this vein. we owe it to young people to ensure that their investments in education pay off and that there ’ s a job at the end of all their hard work and study. fostering connections between community colleges and employers is one way we can help to make sure the next generation is ready for the opportunities our economy has to offer. we ’ ve published loads of research on this subject, and we ’ re putting some of our findings into practice

increase in the services industry. at the same time, the floating exchange rate regime has contributed to a significant change in the pattern. historically, a devaluation of the krona has been necessary at the climax of a crisis and on several occasions during the 1970s and 1980s crises were caused by the fixed exchange rate in combination with cost developments leading to a cost crisis. the slowdown in 2001 was different to the extent that industry ’ s competitiveness was very strong. the weakening of the krona began, fortunately, a year before industrial activity slowed down. this contributed to a very strong development in net exports during 2001. this is probably an important factor behind the slowdown being a slowdown rather than a recession in sweden. although there are otherwise major differences, it can be noted that the decline in gdp and exports in finland was much greater than that in sweden. while industrial production in sweden decreased at most by 5 per cent, it fell by over 10 per cent in finland. whether this is due more to other factors than to the exchange rate is an open question, but it is reasonable to assume that the development of the krona subdued the decline in the swedish economy. certainly, it may have at the same time have aggravated the inflation problems. if the krona continues to develop along the path estimated by the riksbank and many other analysts, and continues to strengthen in 2002 and 2003, it will help ensure that the economic upturn does not grow into overheating. the economic situation and monetary policy it is clear from the minutes of the most recent monetary policy meeting that the riksbank is painting a fairly bright picture of the swedish economy in future. the international recovery, particularly in the usa, may become slightly stronger than we believed earlier, and this, combined with a continued weak krona, will benefit swedish exports. however, developments in ericsson and the telecommunications industry constitute cause for concern and uncertainty. at the same time, the significance of one single sector should not be exaggerated. industrial activity in sweden is continuing to strengthen. both order intake and industrial production indicate a recovery is on its way. this is also reflected in various confidence indicators. with regard to consumption, there are also signs that a turnaround is on its way ; households ’ confidence indicators and the demand for banknotes and coins all point in this direction. retail trade sales have stabilised and there has possibly been a slight upturn at the beginning of the year. this applies particularly to consumption of durable goods.