Margaret Thatcher swept into office in 1979, bringing with her a strongly held and clear political philosophy: to reduce the role of the state in the economy and rid the country of its "wasting disease". Thatcher embraced the free-market views of Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman. She resolved to break the monopoly of nationalised industries and curb the oppressive power of the trade unions. She revamped policies, cut back the role of government and the extent of the welfare state, and privatised inefficient public enterprises. She confronted the unions and defeated them, notably in a prolonged miners' strike. In short, she succeeded in changing the prevailing economic paradigm from a socialist welfare state to a much more laissez-faire system. Thatcher had to tackle strong vested interests, and could only reshape Britain's economy and society with the support of the people. This was by no means an easy task after three decades of heavy state welfarism. Yet she won four successive elections and, with them, the mandate to make fundamental changes to the country. Her reforms outlasted her - even the Labour Party, to be elected, had to reinvent itself as New Labour and espouse policies not so different from what the Conservatives stood for. The remaking of Singapore Singapore too has had to remake itself to get to where we are today. Since independence, we have always been on the move, adapting to an ever-changing environment. Being a small and open economy, we are constantly subject to the vagaries of the external environment.
Robert Ophèle: Diversity and harmonisation of deposit insurance Closing speech by Mr Robert Ophèle, Deputy Governor of the Bank of France, at the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI) International ERC Conference, Paris, 26 May 2016. *  *  *  I wish to thank the IADI and the FGDR for inviting me to deliver this closing speech. Bruno Bezard opened the conference for the French Treasury, and a central banker will close it. This is a perfect arrangement. Deposit insurance or deposit guaranty is a fascinating tool. History and geography have demonstrated the variety of schemes and how they are a powerful force for the better, or perhaps for the worse. I can’t indeed refrain from quoting the American Bankers Association, in 1933, i.e. more than 100 years after the introduction in the US of the first deposit insurance scheme, by the State of New York in 1829: “these historical experiences show that the guaranty plan is inherently fallacious and based on erroneous premises and assumptions. It has proved to be one of those plausible, but deceptive, human plans that in actual application only serve to render worse the very evils they seek to cure.” Today 113 Deposit Insurance Funds are in place, but I should stress that the jury is still out as to their effectiveness. Indeed, recent history shows how tricky deposit insurance can be. Just remember a few years ago, when schemes avoiding moral hazard by not providing a 100 percent coverage of even the smallest deposits were favoured.