In conclusion, I’d like to note that although the current economic slowdown is of both structural and cyclical nature, structural factors and the need to create new growth sources still play a major role. This means that monetary policy measures are not sufficient to solve all the problems facing the economy. Special efforts are needed to promote new investments in the economy, improve business climate, increase the mobility of labour and its skills, enhance the efficiency of natural monopolies and government expenditure, improve state governance, and develop infrastructure and logistics. Only these efforts will ensure sustained long-term economic growth based on increasing productivity and economic structural changes. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches
Following this workshop, the results of these research works will feed into the decision making process and help the Bank of Albania to make more informed decisions and improve its models and the efficiency of policy-making. For this reason, I encourage and invite you all to ask questions, to comment and to assess our work with your opinions and academic proficiency, to challenge our findings and methodologies. The nature of our research is undoubtedly influenced by our main mission and prevailing concerns. It is for that reason that the majority of our research focuses on monetary policy, price and financial stability, models related to them and the economic events that affect them the most. Some of the trends that we will discuss today are global and fundamental in nature. They may not have reached our economies, yet, but they will definitely have a significant impact on our real economy and financial system in the future. For example, new technologies, such as crypto currencies, Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, which represent a major challenge, not only for central banks, will have various implications for monetary and financial stability. Research related to these new technologies will be beneficial for both advanced and developing countries. Unexpected, sometimes new, global or regional events can shock a domestic economy such that authorities need to intervene with what they already know and have experienced. It is important to understand the short and long-term implications of the adopted policies in these new environments.