Florin Georgescu: Challenging the status quo in management and economics Opening remarks by Mr Florin Georgescu, First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Romania, at the Strategica International Academic Conference "Challenging the Status Quo in Management and Economics", Bucharest, 11 October 2018. * * * Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am glad to welcome you at the National Bank of Romania, as we host today the 6th edition of this prestigious international conference, together with the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, and the Romanian Academic Society of Management. The debates today will be held under a generous and timely topic: “Challenging the Status Quo in Management and Economics”. We couldn’t have a better moment to discuss challenges to the status quo than today, as we witness a whole range of economic, social and political forces pushing for change all over the world. If this change is in the sense of progress or not, that remains to be seen. I trust that your presentations and insights will shed more light on these trends. I confess that I had a look at the titles of the presentations in both days of the conference, and the word that appears most frequently in these titles is knowledge. And I realize that not less than 50 years ago, Peter Drucker, the philosopher and management guru, launched the concept of knowledge economy. Since then, economists and management specialists of all doctrines, put knowledge at the forefront of their views of the world.
These facts oblige us to realize that challenging the status quo means in the end challenging mentalities, both those of policymakers and of citizens. It is a very complex process, but we see it as an opportunity as well. We can transform education and awareness in very effective policy tools, to everybody’s benefit. We can surpass the objective limits of our policy actions, by making people more aware of these very objective limits. Bridging the knowledge gap can lead to more financial inclusion, to more access to finance, which is good news for banks, companies, citizens and public authorities alike. Ladies and gentlemen, My conclusion and my message for you, distinguished participants to this conference, and I do not want to sound old fashioned, is that we need research and economic analysis that is practical and can fill the real deficits of our society. And if you really want to challenge the status quo, my advice is to have in mind also the way your research will be disseminated and materialized in real life. On the other hand, let’s not forget to preserve what is valuable in the current establishment. As an old word of wisdom is saying, we need courage to change the things which should be changed, serenity to accept the things that cannot be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. I wish you success with the debates! 2/2  BIS central bankers' speeches