As a euro participant, however, Sweden would be in the same boat as other member states as regards many of what appear to be likely supply shocks, for instance oil price fluctuations. As regards the lack of knowledge, there are clearly no simple institutional solutions. But this does not mean that the institutional frameworks for conducting policy do not affect the accumulation of knowledge. As I mentioned earlier, the Stability and Growth Pact has led to a rapid development of EU work to arrive at a better understanding of the interaction of public budgets and capacity utilisation. In Sweden, the acquisition of knowledge about potential growth, the output gap and so on has been stimulated in that the Riksbank has been made accountable for safeguarding the value of money and we have placed this mandate in a clear intellectual framework that calls for deeper analyses. This in turn has had consequences for how both the Ministry of Finance and the National Institute of  4  BIS Review 6/2002  Economic Research are now working on these matters. Another reason why Swedish authorities have reason to be more involved in a broad discussion and analysis of questions such as these is perhaps that euro participation could lead to the financial markets becoming less interested in analysing specifically Swedish conditions. I consider that the importance of a high level of competence in such institutions as the Finance Ministry, the Riksbank and the National Institute should be emphasised.
I will not name the bank here, because the HKMA is currently a tenant in a building that bears its name. To avoid giving the impression that the HKMA is a subsidiary of that bank, we have always tried to pretend that the building is called something else, by refraining from mentioning the name on our stationery, or to deliverymen or taxi-drivers, or to anyone else. It is sufficient to say that the bank in question is this year celebrating its 100th anniversary in Hong Kong. Steve has gone to the opposite end of the two-corner solution by entering the floating world of academics and consultants. Since leaving the Reserve Bank of Australia six months ago, he has taken up an appointment as Adjunct Professor at the National Centre for Development Studies at the Australian National University. He also works as an economic consultant, mainly, I understand, on Asia-related topics. Whatever corner Stan and Steve have chosen, the important thing is that they will continue to give their expertise to the region through organisations which, though very different, have an important presence in Asia. They are also here to share that expertise with us today. So without further delay, let me welcome them both and call first upon our speaker, Dr Stanley Fischer, to deliver the Fifth HKMA Distinguished Lecture. Dr Fischer, please. 2  BIS Review 33/2002