between them. the internet, social media, cloud computing and big data analysis are affecting competition by altering relative prices and market shares between, for example, small and large firms. but the overall impact of digitalisation on productivity and potential growth does not depend solely on innovation and the creation of new technology. for new technology to truly achieve its full effect, it has to spread from its creator to other businesses in the economy. 1 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches yet at present, firm - level productivity appears to be becoming more dispersed, as firms rich in intangible assets are scaling up investment much more than firms that are lagging behind. this divergence seems to be related to inefficiencies in the reallocation of resources from the least to the most productive firms within each sector, rather than inefficient allocation between sectors. factors that drive such capital misallocation5 appear to be partly related to market rigidities, poor policy reactions and banks ’ reluctance to address their non - performing loans. there are three main avenues for policymakers to harness the benefits of technological progress and drive an improvement in living standards. the first is to encourage education policies that mitigate the impact of technology on some workers. the second is to bolster competition to provide businesses with incentives to invest in technology. and the third is to ensure we have a financial sector that is capable of supporting innovation and growth. digitalisation and demand for skills introducing new technologies appears to reduce the demand for low and medium - skilled workers. 6 at the same time, it creates new jobs which require highly skilled workers and provides opportunities for further. 7 these changes already appear to be having repercussions for wage distribution and working conditions. these challenges come at a time when labour ’ s relative contribution to potential growth is diminishing in the context of an ageing population. all else being equal, unfavourable demographics increase the relative importance of capital deepening for underpinning potential growth. 8 education and infrastructure policies promoting entrepreneurship could smooth the transition and mitigate adverse effects on low - skilled workers. these include retraining and lifelong learning opportunities. we have witnessed a sharp increase in the participation rate of older workers during the past decade. continuing this trend by providing opportunities for this part of the population to reskill and remain connected to the labour market would help mitigate the impact of ageing on growth. policies to support competitiveness policies to boost competitiveness and attract investment in europe are an

willem f duisenberg : the euro - a new currency for europe dinner speech delivered by dr willem f duisenberg, president of the european central bank, at the bank of thailand on 19 december 2000. * * * ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests. may i first say that it is an honour to be invited to say a few words to you this evening about europe ’ s new single currency, the euro. i have to admit that one would not normally think of a currency as being a particularly likely or interesting subject for a dinner speech. for the euro, however, i think i am correct in saying that this is not the case. indeed, the euro is a currency quite unlike any other. it is not a national currency. instead it is a supra - national currency created by a monetary union of 11, soon to be 12, sovereign member states creating the second largest monetary area in the world. it is also a very new currency, still less than two years old. it does not yet circulate in the form of banknotes and coins. not surprisingly, therefore, the euro does indeed attract a great deal of public attention. it is notable, however, that different observers seem to perceive the euro in very different ways. some focus their attention almost exclusively on the exchange rate, overlooking the fact that the ecb ’ s principal aim is to maintain price stability and not a fixed exchange rate. others seem to consider the euro purely in terms of a political or economic experiment. they fail to notice that it is already a fully functioning single currency. this only serves to convince me that, even two years after its introduction, there is still a need for the euro to be explained to the public at large. and, this is perhaps all the more so outside europe where understanding of european integration and policy - making is, not surprisingly, more limited. therefore, i very much welcome this opportunity to say a few quite general words to you about what the euro is, how it works, and what it means, both for the euro area and for the world at large. * * * let me first say that one should never try to understand europe ’ s new currency in isolation or as a currency which was merely introduced on 1 january 1999. in fact, the euro is just one, albeit an important, part of the process of creating an economic as well as a monetary union in europe. this process began already a decade ago. similarly, this " economic and monetary union