This explains why welfare gains have been substantially higher in Norway and other European countries than in the US in the postwar period. BIS Review 14/2000  10  Chart 12  Growth in productivity in mainland Norway was high in the 1960s and 1970s. Since 1980 productivity growth has been more in line with growth in the US. By then we had reached a high level of income. It follows that there was less to gain than earlier from the import of new technology. Chart 13  In spite of the boost provided by Norway’s oil resources, there is a difference in income between Norway and the US. The income differential is probably to a large extent ascribable to differences in  11  BIS Review 14/2000  working hours and employment. Labour participation is slightly higher in Norway than in the US, while the average working time in Norway is almost 30% below the US average. Many people in Norway work part time. But even a full person-year amounts to a good 10% fewer hours than the US average. The income differential primarily reflects that Norwegians have preferred leisure to long working hours. However, the income level in Norway is high compared with other European countries, which is attributable to Norway’s petroleum revenues and high level of employment. The relatively high level of income indicates that we have to a large extent closed the technological gap between Norway and the US.
To contribute to the concerted efforts by the international community, the Hong Kong SAR Government has recently asked the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to establish an Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office (IFFO). As its name suggests, IFFO aims to provide a platform to bring together key stakeholders, including developing countries, multilateral development banks, potential investors and financiers (e.g. private equity funds, sovereign wealth funds, banks etc), project developers such as corporations capable of developing and operating large-scale infrastructure, and professional service providers. Through information exchange, experience sharing and capacity building, we hope to facilitate more efficient and sustainable infrastructure investment flows to developing Asia. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  IFFO will seek to collaborate with other development partners in the region and so far we have received support from a number of them including ADB. If everything goes smoothly, IFFO will be formally inaugurated this summer. As an international financial and business center in the region, Hong Kong, China has long been playing an active role in supporting infrastructure financing in Asia. By leveraging on our unique position as an IFC, we hope the IFFO initiative will help mobilise private sector financing and bridge the gap between investors and viable projects. We look forward to working closely with our partners in this process. Thank you. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches