##tik. this leads to stress in our societies. for each euro area country, the pressures for maintaining sound finances and remaining competitive have grown tremendously. at the same time, also the incentives of each euro area country to monitor its peers have grown to virtually the same extent. hence, my message is that each euro area country is a stakeholder in the success of the others. some final thoughts the global financial crisis has been a traumatic event in the still short history of the euro area. yet, it has also been a wake - up call. in my view it has been a catalytic event that is changing both europe and europeans. the contours of a shared european culture of stability are gradually emerging. it is a culture of respect of rules and institutions and transparency. this will support the economic growth that is indispensable to heal the legacy of the crisis. but let us be modest and bear in mind that solutions to the crisis are only good : if they are thought through carefully, if they are widely accepted and shared by european citizens, and if they are widely implemented across euro area countries and, when needed, improved and strengthened as necessary. as konrad adenauer put it many years ago, “ die einheit europas war ein traum weniger. sie wurde eine hoffnung fur viele. sie ist heute eine notwendigkeit fur alle ” ( the unification of europe was the dream of a few. it became a hope for many. today, it is indispensable for all ). bis central bankers ’ speeches

goh chok tong : sharing some perspectives on growth speech mr goh chok tong, senior minister and chairman of the monetary authority of singapore, at the group of thirty ( g - 30 ) international banking seminar and lunch, singapore, 18 september 2006. * * * the good, the bad and the ugly let me first bid you a warm welcome to singapore. i was recently invited by the world bank to be a member of the growth commission chaired by professor michael spence. so today's topic " sharing some perspectives on growth " fits me like a glove. in offering my perspectives, i shall draw heavily on the experience of singapore. forty years ago, soon after i started work in the economic planning unit of the finance ministry, i was sent to do a post - graduate course in development economics at williams college in the us. the course was designed for young officials from developing countries. there were 20 of us from 16 countries spanning four continents - asia, europe, africa and latin america. the countries included the philippines, pakistan, india, yugoslavia, egypt, tanzania, liberia, honduras, colombia and mexico 1 the 1960s was dubbed the " decade of promise ". an unprecedented number of colonies had just gained independence. my fellow students and i were taught the latest development theories. brighteyed and bushy - tailed, we were full of hope. but 40 years later, history tells a different story. only a few had our hopes fulfilled ; most had their dreams dashed. yugoslavia, mexico and egypt had the advantage of being close to the critical export markets in the developed world. honduras and tanzania had precious metal deposits, as did several of the other latin american and african countries. singapore had nothing, was over - populated and had high unemployment. many economists of the day predicted that countries in latin america and africa would outgrow over - populated, resource - scarce asia. the outcome, however, was totally different. living standards have barely risen in honduras in the last 40 years, and have declined in tanzania. tito's yugoslavia no longer exists. east pakistan fought a war with west pakistan and separated to become bangladesh. civil war and internal disorder tore up countries like liberia, ethiopia and uganda. singapore which was written off by pundits as being not viable without the malaysian hinterland not only survived but thrived. its gdp per capita increased more than six - fold, better than any of the other 15 countries represented in my class. why have the growth experiences of individual countries been