Over time, the employment share has fluctuated around a stationary average. The same is true in other countries. •  The effects of technology have been felt, at least to some degree, in hours worked, as Keynes predicted back in the 1930s. In the UK, the average working week has fallen from 50 hours a century ago to around 30 hours today (Chart 11). Nonetheless, this fall-off has fallen well short of Keynes’ prediction of a 15-hour week. The “leisure classes” are no more numerous today than a century ago. •  Shifts in population – through changes in birth/death rates or through immigration – have also had no obvious impact on employment. The relationship between population growth and the employment share is, if anything, positive (Chart 12). This, too, is evidence of the compensation effects of population growth – higher output and demand – outweighing any displacement effects in the jobs market. •  As technology has boosted productivity and incomes, its fruits have been harvested by workers, typically in the form of higher wages. Since 1750, the upwards march of productivity has largely been matched by the upwards march of real wages (Chart 13). Since the Industrial Revolution, the former has risen on average by 1.1% per year, the latter by 0.9% per year. BIS central bankers’ speeches  5  •  The same pattern was evident prior to the Industrial Revolution. Then, the absence of technological progress led to productivity flat-lining. The real incomes of workers similarly flat-lined (Chart 13).
During the course of the SAARC Payments Initiative, member countries will be able to learn from the efforts and experiences of developments of payments within the region, as well as outside. Some of our member countries may have to acquire modern communication infrastructure and advanced payment systems to support the delivery of the payment and settlement services required, not only by their own markets, but also by the regional market. In effect, the SAARC Payments Initiative will be able to: (a) guide the efforts of member countries in modernizing their national payment systems; (b) assist in establishing appropriate technological links with others in the region; and (c) bring their payment systems to appropriate standards compatible with international standards. 4. The importance of payment systems  4.1 The broader term “payment systems” includes not only payments, but also clearing and settlement systems. Payment systems represent a basic infrastructure for the functioning of market economies and in developing more inclusive financial systems, including enhancement of access to finance. The soundness and efficiency of payment systems are fundamental to the stability of the currency, as well as the financial system and, therefore, to sustaining economic development. 4.2 It is in this context that some of the governing laws of the region’s central banks include references to the responsibility of central banks to promote the monetary, financial and payment systems in their respective countries.