unemployment is on the rise. norway ’ s oil regions, which have long reaped the benefits of the upswing, are now struggling. the downswing is proving painful for many. but the situation is far different from the adverse conditions that prevailed in the 1980s, which resulted in a deep economic crisis in norway. but unemployment must be expected to be higher than we have been accustomed to in recent years. closing a business takes less time than developing a new one. restructuring takes time. restructuring must start in the business sector. economic policy can only help set the stage. monetary policy can facilitate the restructuring process by supporting a weaker krone exchange rate and thereby expedite adaptation to a lower cost level. in addition, reduced interest expenses will contribute to income growth for many households. there is still room for manoeuvre in monetary policy. when unemployment rises, as is the case today, it may be appropriate to use the fiscal space available. we must avoid a self - reinforcing decline in output and employment and hence a decline that is more pronounced than necessary. but an increase in the spending of petroleum revenues should primarily be used to finance temporary measures that are easy to reverse. fiscal policy must also take into consideration that lower oil prices will reduce the government ’ s spending capacity in the longer term. in recent years, we have sold large volumes of oil and gas at good prices. the transfers to the government ’ s savings account have been substantial. the picture is now quite different. if oil prices remain at today ’ s level, government revenues will fall sharply. the present value of future income can in that case be estimated at a fourth of today ’ s oil fund, the government bis central bankers ’ speeches pension fund global ( gpfg ). 6 that means that most of the government ’ s petroleum wealth may already have been deposited in the gpfg. the year 2015 may stand as the last year of net transfers to the gpfg. already when the budget for 2016 was presented, there were prospects that the spending of oil revenues would exceed actual income from petroleum activities. the estimate is based on impact calculations in the national budget for 2016 ( page 31 ) based on a long - term oil price of nok 400 per barrel at constant 2016 nok. bis central bankers ’ speeches at today ’ s oil price, it may be necessary to use about nok 80 billion of the gpfg ’ s return to finance the structural non - oil budget deficit. 7

nestor a espenilla, jr : collective and individual competitive advantages speech by mr nestor a espenilla, jr, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the powwow 2017, cebu city, 17 november 2017. * * * philexport cebu chairman apolinar suarez, jr. ; president mr. nelson bascones ; officers and members of philexport cebu ; special guests ; ladies and gentlemen maayong gabii. i am grateful for the invitation to speak about the bsp ’ s policies and thrusts, my first as bsp governor, before this distinguished group of business leaders and exporters. a major industrial hub, cebu plays a crucial role in philippine economic development. with at least 27 it parks and centers ; 7 manufacturing zones ; 2 tourism economic zones ; and 1 agro industrial economic zone, cebu is a dynamic economic hub. this evening ’ s theme has three action verbs. individually, the words sound like commands. as a unified phrase, it is a battlecry. “ create. innovate. compete. ” cebu is no stranger to the power of creativity and innovation. because of efficiency and raw talent, the level of craftsmanship and creativity of the cebu furniture industry, for example, allows it to produce high quality and unique custom - built pieces that cater to medium - to high - end markets, selling twice or thrice more furniture than competitors from vietnam and china. to outperform others — businesses must be creative and innovative. but creativity and innovation should not be pursued for their own sakes. ( this is a reminder i have relayed to the bsp and the banking and financial sectors many times ). efforts should be focused and strategic. in the context of business, creation and innovation should be concentrated on, and mindful of, competitive advantage. this brings about strategic competitiveness. the philippines ’ competitive sdvantage allow me to relay data on the philippines ’ positive economic position which enables it to compete strategically in the global market. philippine macroeconomic fundamentals are solid and robust. these support local exporters and entrepreneurs. we have had uninterrupted gdp growth for 75 consecutive quarters ( more than 18 ½ years ). gdp expanded 6 percent annually during the past five years. prospects are favorable and growth is predicted to be between 6. 5 to 7. 5 percent this year and 7. 0 to 8. 0 percent over the