Conceivably, these differences might be heavily influenced by the relatively recent nature of our educational development; but looking at the percentages for young people in the 25-34 age group, it can be seen that, despite the progress recorded, a gap exists which, though moderate (64% in Spain compared with figures of over 80% in most of the major countries), remains illustrative of our continuing laggardness. In the current decentralised State, the central government retains few responsibilities in respect of education, which means that educational progress in Spain is fundamentally in the hands of the regional governments. These may thus be said to have a major responsibility in determining our longterm growth prospects and the future functioning of the Spanish economy. And this conclusion is further reinforced when considering the changes that have come about in budgetary policies. Hence,  4  BIS Review 32/2007  insofar as the decentralised structure of the State has played a very positive role in growth in the recent past, as I said at the start of my address, when speaking of the future it emerges once again as a determinant of the first order. As is known, public spending by territorial governments is more than two and a half times that of central government. It is clear from this that what regional and local governments do is, for the purposes of maintaining the public spending/GDP ratio, much more important than what central government does.
But if the foreign reserves are evaluated as a percentage of foreign debt, Iceland is relatively weak. On behalf of the Board of Governors, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people and institutions whose representatives are here today for a very satisfying collaborative relationship. BIS Review 36/2008  5