"My biggest concern as Governor of the Bank of Israel is how to ensure long-term, sustainable, inclusive growth," Governor of the Bank of Israel Karnit Flug said last week in a street interview with CNN's Richard Quest. Flug was in Washington DC for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
"We have had growth, and we have high employment and low unemployment, and greater participation in the labor market, but we have large skill gaps, which lead to large wage gaps and income gaps. We have to do more to equip people with the right skills to find gainful employment. Given that the economy is doing well, this is the time to do fundamental things."
Asked about outgoing German Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schäuble's warning of an atmosphere of complacency among decision makers and of possible shocks to the global economy, Flug responded, "Our job as decision makers is to worry, and we should prepare ourselves for the next shock wherever it might come from. If you build in resilience in the form of low debt, high liquidity, high reserves, it's possible to be prepared for shocks."
"You in Israel are preparing for shocks all the time, aren't you?" asked Quest.
"In the neighborhood in which we live we should be ready for shocks. The Israeli economy has shown resilience and we continue to build resilience into the system," Flug replied.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 15, 2017
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