to borrow in foreign currency, the reduced efficiency of transmission mechanisms in the presence of central bank credibility, the potential role of informal and parallel markets and informal economic activity, are some examples of interesting traits of economic behaviour. several authors have been intrigued by such developments. hence, they have conducted extensive research on these phenomenon in similar emerging and developing economies, which have later seen the light of publication. good examples are found in the research work done by the national bank of austria ( oenb ) on the level of euroization in the region, with interesting results that have helped authorities but have also increased the interest of other institutions and academics in euroization issues. in addition, there are increased concerns about financial and foreign exchange market stability in the event of a sudden reversal of capital inflows to the regional banking system. recently dramatic changes are occurring in the global economic environment, including continuing monetary policy normalization by the u. s. federal reserve. these changes can potentially impact small, open economies and must be understood. research conducted by the central bank of italy ( bdi ) is another example of research work, focused on the region, providing an interesting regional perspective for euro area policymakers regarding their policy decisions and actions. this research has formally provided researched - based evidence on the implications of their policy making on the large group of countries in the periphery of the euro area. these are just a few examples of interesting, useful and publishable research. this year we have a couple of projects that involve cooperation and joint works between bank of albania researchers and those from other central banks or academia. this is another way to increase the potential for publication and i would encourage you to increase the amount and scope of cooperation in research with foreign researchers. to conclude, i would like to reemphasize that we must enhance the overall efficiency of the transmission mechanism, and the resilience of the banking and financial systems so that potential and unexpected shocks do not advance to economic or systemic risk. to this end, we must reinforce our capacities and our understanding of economic and financial developments and their relation to policy tools, in order to properly respond to potential risks. this may be done by improving our current knowledge of past shocks, development, and the implications of potential shocks. experience has shown that this knowledge is comprehensive only when it is the result of a rigorous and competent research process. last but not least, we have to continue our policy efforts to strengthen the relationship between researchers and policy makers. i believe that these efforts

gent sejko : the need to reinforce understanding of economic developments and their relation to policy welcome remarks by mr gent sejko, governor of the bank of albania, at the 12th see economic research workshop, tirana, 6 december 2018. * * * ladies and gentlemen! it is a great pleasure for me to welcome all of you today to our 12th research workshop. i would like to express my sincere gratitude to our guests from academia and central banks who for 12 years have made this workshop one of the best and well - recognized economic and financial research events in albania and in the region. let me also thank all of our distinguished chairs, speakers and discussants for their engagement here today. the papers that will be presented and discussed during these 2 days will cover a wide range of economic and financial issues that concern central banks. the topics on monetary policy, financial stability, risk and novel methodologies are all very relevant to the daily activity of central banks and as such are very important to us. the bank of albania is involved in decision - making on all these issues and we provide our active support to it through our research. along with the papers that are going to be presented today in the panels, we have also decided to include and present in the poster presentations, tomorrow, some of our ongoing projects. following this workshop, the results of these research works will feed into the decision making process and help the bank of albania to make more informed decisions and improve its models and the efficiency of policy - making. for this reason, i encourage and invite you all to ask questions, to comment and to assess our work with your opinions and academic proficiency, to challenge our findings and methodologies. the nature of our research is undoubtedly influenced by our main mission and prevailing concerns. it is for that reason that the majority of our research focuses on monetary policy, price and financial stability, models related to them and the economic events that affect them the most. some of the trends that we will discuss today are global and fundamental in nature. they may not have reached our economies, yet, but they will definitely have a significant impact on our real economy and financial system in the future. for example, new technologies, such as crypto currencies, artificial intelligence and machine learning, which represent a major challenge, not only for central banks, will have various implications for monetary and financial stability. research related to these new technologies will be beneficial for both advanced and developing countries. unexpected, sometimes new, global or