Mario Draghi: Keynote speech at the Eurofi Financial Forum Keynote speech by Mr Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, at the Eurofi Financial Forum, Milan, 11 September 2014. *  *  *  Summary We are facing a set of conditions – low growth and low inflation, high debt and high unemployment – that can only be addressed by concerted action on both the demand and supply sides of the economy. This requires that all actors – both at national and European levels – play their parts in line with their respective mandate as laid down in the EU Treaties. No monetary or fiscal stimulus can be successful if not accompanied by the right structural policies – policies that foster potential growth and instil confidence. Investment has been one of the great casualties of the crisis. From peak to trough business investment in the euro area decreased by around 20% since 2008, against 15% in the 1992 recession. We will not see a sustainable recovery unless this changes. A decisive rise in investment is essential to bring inflation where we would want to see it, to kick-start the economy and to bring down unemployment. There are two key areas where national and European level government action can help revive investment. First, the regulatory environment should be made more favourable to economic growth. Second, companies need to have access to more diversified sources of financing: the launch of a capital markets union could contribute to achieving this.
Øystein Olsen: Navigating normalisation Speech by Mr Øystein Olsen, Governor of Norges Bank (Central Bank of Norway), at the Bank of Thailand – OMFIF High-level Seminar, Bangkok, 9 October 2018. * * * First, let me thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. I am very happy to visit the Bank of Thailand and to participate on this panel. The financial crisis demanded powerful economic policy measures. Monetary policy had to take on substantial responsibility, in Norway as in many other countries. As we are hopefully heading for more normal times, it is important to evaluate our policy framework. Our experience is that a flexible inflation targeting regime has helped dampen the impact on the real economy. In recent years, output and employment volatility has been relatively limited despite large shocks to the Norwegian economy. The exchange rate has played an important role as a shock absorber, especially during the financial crisis and in periods when oil prices have fallen. At the same time, the interest rate level abroad places limitations on the room for manoeuvre in monetary policy in a small open economy like Norway. Our economy and economic policy Before I elaborate on this, I would like to give you some background on my country. Norway is a small country with a little more than five million inhabitants. The economy is open; total imports and exports make up about 2/3 of GDP.