As an additional way of sharpening incentives, individuals could be recognised or rewarded, locally or nationally, for passing certain volunteering milestones – 5,000 hours, 10,000 hours etc. If we wanted a more systematic way of calibrating the UK honours system, what better metric than the credit balance in an individual’s IVA? Conclusion So let me briefly sum up. Whether seen from an economic or social perspective, volunteering is big business, with annual turnover well into three-figure billions. But it is a well-hidden jewel, whose social worth is rarely the subject of a public valuation. One of the purposes of this lecture was to provide such a valuation, however imperfect. If the value of volunteering remains largely out of sight, it is likely also to remain out of mind. The potential economic and societal benefits from volunteering then risk remaining untapped. Yet with a nudge, that volunteer army could swell further. Indeed, I hope some of you here tonight might swell the ranks by signing-up to PBE as a volunteer. My message to you is that, by doing so, we – individually and societally – stand to receive. 38  Booth et al (2013).
Svein Gjedrem: Interest rates, the exchange rate and the outlook for the Norwegian economy Speech by Mr Svein Gjedrem, Governor of Norges Bank (Central Bank of Norway), to the Mid-Norway Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Trondheim, 28 November 2007. The text below may differ slightly from the actual presentation. The address is based on the assessments presented at Norges Bank’s press conference following the Executive Board’s monetary policy meeting on 31 October and in Monetary Policy Report 3/07. *  *  *  Introduction Monetary policy in Norway is oriented towards low and stable inflation with annual consumer price inflation of close to 2.5 per cent over time. The objective of low and stable inflation provides the economy with a nominal anchor. This means that all economic agents – households and enterprises, whether large or small – can plan ahead on the assumption that inflation will be low and stable. In a small, open and decentralised market economy like Norway, and with our particular industry structure, there will be cyclical fluctuations. When economic agents have confidence that inflation is low and stable over time, the interest rate can also be set with a view to dampening the fluctuations somewhat. Low inflation and solid growth in the Norwegian economy Inflation in Norway decelerated markedly from the late-1980s to the mid-1990s and has since been low and stable, and fairly close to, but somewhat lower than the target of 2.5 per cent, with considerably lower variability than earlier.