age in oecd countries, compared with 14 in 1950. 10 at the same time, public debt levels have surged in those countries from 56 % of gdp in 2007 to around 87 % today. 11 only higher potential growth can provide a lasting solution. so, clearly, to foster a dynamic global economy we need to resist protectionist urges. but to do so, we also need to identify how best to respond to protectionism. the role of multilateral cooperation in making openness sustainable much has been written over the past few years about the negative effects of free trade and the need to pay more attention to those who benefit less from it. the debate has typically focused on the extent to which welfare policies can be used to share the gains of trade more evenly. though this is a complex issue, 12 i have no doubt that making better use of public policies to support the more vulnerable members of society, not just financially but also through education and retraining, is a vital part of the equation. more work needs to be done in this area and it is important to learn from best policy practices. but the other key question is : how can we work together to make openness sustainable? what role can multilateral cooperation play towards this goal? this is the angle i would like to address today. its importance becomes clear when one thinks about the three main areas of concern that people have about open markets that i mentioned earlier. first, there is the concern about whether openness is fair – i. e. whether all are playing by the same rules and applying the same standards. this manifests itself in fears about currency manipulation by trading partners, dumping practices and lack of reciprocal market access. second, there is the concern about whether openness is safe – i. e. whether it exposes people to 2 / 7 bis central bankers'speeches harmful spillovers from abroad. this is perhaps most visible, at least for economists, in the case of cross - border capital flows13, but it also applies in areas such as agriculture and biotechnology. third, there is the concern about whether openness is equitable – that is, whether it disproportionately benefits some groups in society over others. though it is not straightforward to disentangle the effects of trade and technology on inequality – and they may in fact be linked14 – the perception that openness contributes to inequality has become more widespread. in each case, multilateral cooperation, leading to regulatory convergence, is a precon

social and economic research ) ; thereafter from the wealth and asset survey ( was, ons ). the bhps wealth data exclude physical and pension wealth. income gini coefficient measures consistent with chart 7. 35 - 44 45 - 54 55 - 64 65 + age source : 1995 is from the british household panel survey ( institute for social and economic research ) ; thereafter the wealth and asset survey ( ons ). the bhps measure is adjusted for the average wedge between the bhps and was surveys to correspond to the was using overlapping periods. iii. the way forward given these developments, the challenge is how to manage and moderate the forces of innovation and integration which breed aggregate prosperity for the economy as a whole but which also foster isolation and detachment for substantial proportions of the population. in the balance of my remarks, i will focus on three priorities for doing so. first, economists must clearly acknowledge the challenges we face, including the realities of uneven gains from trade and technology. second, we must grow our economy by rebalancing the mix of monetary policy, fiscal policy and structural reforms. third, we need to move towards more inclusive growth where everyone has a stake in globalisation. all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / publications / pages / speeches / default. aspx most potential solutions lie outside the bank ’ s remit. but let me say a bit about each of these priorities concentrating on how the bank of england can contribute to more inclusive growth via the impact of its policies on uncertainty, trust and inequality. ( a ) acknowledge current challenges and address them, wherever possible. given their recent experiences, it is not surprising that people are largely ignoring pieties about the virtues of open markets and new technologies, and that they discount assertions that “ they ’ ve never had it so good. ” a more inclusive growth requires frank talk about risks and concrete initiatives to help people adjust to new realities. trade and technology do not raise all boats consider the disconnect between economists and workers. the former have not been sufficiently upfront about the distributional consequences of rapid changes in technology and globalisation. amongst economists, a belief in free trade is totemic. xiv but, while trade makes countries better off, it does not raise all boats ; in the clinical words of the economist, trade is not pareto optimal. xv rather, the benefits from trade are unequally spread across individuals and time. consumers get lower prices and new