We supplied 300 million people with a new means of payment which in sixty days replaced, without technical failures or psychological regret, currencies that had served for centuries. Exchanging the old national banknotes and coins for the new euro denominations was a massive operation requiring enormous technical effort, perfect logistical co-ordination and economic wisdom.
It is a theme which is close to my own heart as a central banker, because I am frequently faced with having to make policy decisions in circumstances in which our knowledge of critical relationships in the economy – for example the relationships which underlie the monetary transmission mechanism – is somewhat rudimentary.