THE Insider regrets to inform readers that the days of hearing the Reserve Bank governor’s reflections on life and society have come to an end. Former governor was a deep well to draw from, what with his anecdotes about his failed avocado patch, his meetings with his international counterparts and his encounters with ordinary people in the streets and supermarkets.
A raconteur, he loved to hold the attention of Parliament’s finance committee with his views . His down- to-earth, good-natured and warm successor Gill Marcus is more inclined to concentrate on the matters at hand, offering few — if any, glimpses into her private life.
Marcus on independence
HAVING taken up her new post in a political atmosphere of deep division over the role of the Reserve Bank and monetary policy, Marcus did feel it necessary yesterday to emphasise to the finance committee the important distinction between independence and opposition.
Independence of mind did not mean being in opposition, Marcus stressed.
If the Reserve Bank acted independently in the interests of the country as a whole, it should not be interpreted as taking sides in a “for us or against us”, black-and-white world. It is likely she will have to repeat that message often.
Questions please … anyone?
MARCUS had to battle a bit to persuade analysts to ask questions as she presided over her first biannual monetary policy forum this week. In a further sign of inclusive leadership, she brought all six members of the Bank’s monetary policy committee to the event to take questions from SA’s financial community.
The session got off to a slow start, with only few questions from a somewhat overawed audience. “C’mon guys!” Marcus said as a premature silence fell. “Nobody!” she exclaimed as the silence continued.
Finally one daring member of the audience put up his hand, sparking off a full round of questions.
At the end, Marcus commented: “A couple of you got away with being quiet this time, it won’t happen next time.”
Another reason that the interaction was shorter than on previous occasions was that, this time around, the answers were consistently concise and to the point.
But the Insider was somewhat bemused by the dearth of questions as, before the event, one analyst had complained that journalists at the MPC press conference earlier in the week could have done a much better job of asking intelligent questions.
The true value of life
AN AUSTRALIAN economics professor says he has developed a way to put dollar values on major life events, such as birth and marriage.
Paul Fritjers of the Queensland University of Technology tracked life events and happiness of 10000 Australians since 2001 and found, for example, the birth of a child makes parents happiest before it happens and less happy several months later, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Fritjers said his analysis resulted in putting a happiness value on a birth at about 8700 for the mother and 32000 for the father. He said he did not know why his calculations showed that men were much more affected by life’s incidents, but it tended to give him “confidence in the calculations”.
“We know, for instance, that marriage improves the lives of men much more than women,” he said.
Insurance companies and lawyers were interested in the research, as they look to dollar amounts needed for compensation, Fritjers said.
Wise words
“All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of every organism to live beyond its income.” English composer, novelist, satirist, philosopher and author Samuel Butler (1835-1902).
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