field of expertise, that can produce groundbreaking research and that are able to attract talent from any part of the world. this is precisely what cemfi has done in the area of economics and finance, and this is why the banco de espana is so proud to have contributed to its creation and development. an independent assessment of the quality of cemfi is contained in the recent evaluation report by three distinguished economists, marianne bertrand and raghuram rajan, of the university of chicago, and nobel laureate jean tirole, of the toulouse school of economics. the report starts with the following bold statement : “ cemfi is a remarkable adventure, both on the research front and in terms of educational achievements. a relatively recent introduction in the landscape of european higher education in economics, cemfi has succeeded in establishing itself as one of the premier research centers and postgraduate schools ( in europe ). ” a number of factors have contributed to this success. first, i tend to think cemfi has 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches benefitted from the long - term stability that the institutional support of the banco de espana has given it. second, it has a very good working relationship with the university system, through the agreement with universidad internacional menendez pelayo, which provides the official recognition of the master ’ s and phd degrees. at the same time, it is not burdened by some of the constraints, that make it difficult in continental europe to organise graduate studies comparable to those of the best us universities. third, cemfi has developed over the years norms of behaviour and a collective culture in respect of the admission of students, the hiring and promotion of faculty, and the responsibility and commitment to the institution that are key ingredients for achieving excellence in training and research. finally, cemfi has been fortunate to count on an outstanding leadership that has steered its development over the years. besides the master ’ s and phd programs, and the important contribution of faculty to frontier research, cemfi provides other valuable services. these include the summer school, which brings in leading academics to teach courses in relevant areas to participants, a large number of whom are central bankers. it also organises a highly - demanded summer internship programme for top undergraduate students. and it collaborates with the banco de espana in the training of bank supervisors, and in the organisation of research workshops and conferences. in terms of broader service to spanish society, three faculty members participate in the council on economic advisors that advises the

spanish ministry of economic affairs ; one is a member of the multidisciplinary group that advises the ministry of science and innovation ; another is a member of the advisory board of the spanish independent agency for fiscal responsibility, and another is chair of the scientific committee of the spanish state research agency. all in all, and from the perspective of the banco de espana, cemfi is indeed very good value for money. finally, i would like to take this opportunity to congratulate monica martinez - bravo for the recent award of the banco sabadell prize for economic research, given to a spanish researcher under the age of 40 for outstanding contributions to economics and social sciences. congratulations, monica! to conclude, let me address the students of the class of 2021. you are now entering a very exciting period of your lives. regardless of whether you have decided to pursue your studies in economics or start a professional career, i am sure that the knowledge and habits you have acquired in the past two years will prove to be extremely helpful in your endeavours. i wish you every success in your careers. thank you very much. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches