While this list of useful policy reforms can be extended substantially, I shall confine myself to one further aspect, namely to underscoring how important it is, in the interests of crisis prevention, to choose an appropriate exchange rate regime. The recent wave of international debt crises began in the mid-1990s.
My objective today is relatively modest - to try and clarify some of the basic ideas and measures and to explain where monetary policy fits in this debate. I will start by focusing on the relationship between the standard of living and productivity. Next, I will talk about some of the different measures of productivity.