Your highness, Mr. President of the Generalitat Valenciana, Mr. Governor, Mr. President of the Caja de Ahorros del Mediterraneo, Mr. representative of the Observatory of the European Central Bank, ladies and gentlemen.

It is an honor for me to receive this Germán Bernácer award in financial economics today.

There are many reasons for which I am particularly proud to receive this award.

First of all, for the professional quality of the members of the selection committee. I have the upmost respect and professional admiration for the members of this committee and it makes me especially proud that they have considered me worthy of such an award.

Second, for the institutions that sponsor the award, the Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo for its commitment, and, in particular, the Observatory of the Central European Bank which, through its critical in-depth analysis, has carried forth, above all, a technical and professional quality in its activities that have stimulated debate on monetary policy in the euro zone. Four years ago, when the European Central Bank was created, many of us were skeptical and doubted whether such an institution could deal with the competing pressures and political interests of twelve governments, and set independent monetary policy based on solid economic principles. It has been through such initiatives as the Observatory that the debate has focused more and more on solid economic principles and provides in-depth knowledge of the situation in the euro zone, in addition to raising the credibility of the BCE.

Third, for the fact that this award focuses on recognizing the work of an economist in the euro zone. The creation of the euro has signified a very important period in a historic experiment that has been taking place in western Europe over the past 45 years. This experiment is aiming, through better economic integration among countries, to achieve a more profound social integration in Europe under the basis of mutual understanding and peaceful interaction. This is a clear example of how progress in economic areas can lead to broader social objectives, and it is a very important challenge for economists of my generation. To participate in the success of a once-in-a-lifetime experiment like the euro is an opportunity that we cannot give up .

The fact that this award has a clear conceptual objective, and was explicitly “international” since its creation, are large assets. In the academic world, physical borders do not exist, and political borders exist even less so. The only valid borders for researchers are the limits of our capacity for knowledge as people. Scientific borders are the limits that exist for the problem at hand. The euro is a problem that is substantially cross-border and international, so it is logical that the award follows this rule.

I should also say that I am very pleased with the fact that the award explicitly recognizes a young economist. First, because it has been quite some time since anyone referred to me in these terms, so I started believing that this no longer was the case. Second, because in a world in which age and creativity usually move in opposite directions, this award gives me hope that I can perhaps still contribute something more. Although, unfortunately, as Oscar Wilde said “I am not so young so as to know it all”.

Fourth, I feel particularly honored to receive an award that bears the name of Germán Bernácer for two reasons. On the one hand, German Bernácer was a person especially interested in economic problems from the outside . His studies on the activity of the Spanish peseta in the period between wars, as well as on the relationship between the kind of cambio , foreign exchange and la balanza de pagos are classics in Spanish economic history. In the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to read some of his work, and I have been surprised at the similarities between the analyses of Bernácer and those that I am used to reading in current journal articles.

A second tie that unites me with Germán Bernácer is the Bank of Spain, and especially, the Bank´s study service. Germán Bernácer was its essential core for more than two important decades in Spanish economic history. For me, the Bank of Spain was a played a key role at the very beginning of my professional career, as it supported me with a grant to carry out my doctoral studies in economics even before I was licenciado . Today, the Bank´s study service continues being critical for my work, as I actively collaborate in research with this group of professionals as an associated researcher.

Finally, the Germán Bernácer award makes me especially proud as it recognizes a research path. As Thomas Kuhn explains, research and advances in scientific knowledge are a slow process in which there are sporadic breaks and significant discoveries. The discoveries are usually not isolated events, but are the result of experimentation and accumulated knowledge of problems with the existing paradigm of the time. It is usually the work of many that makes possible discoveries by a few. In this context, I would like to remember the most famous words of Thomas Edison, a magnificent American scientist from the end of the nineteenth century and someone who valued hard work as key to success. He used to say “a genius is 99% transpiration and 1% inspiration”.

Given that this award refers to my professional trajectory up until now, I would like to finish these words with my appreciation towards those people who have made it possible, through a lot of effort and dedication, that this Asturian has created ideas and words dignas able to be read by others. To my professors and teachers from the University of Oviedo and Harvard who put all their knowledge at my disposal and did not falter in their dedication for me to learn. To my professional colleagues with whom I have had the good fortune of working and collaborating during these years. To my students who, with their enthusiasm and interest in learning, have always provided stimulus for me. To my wife Wendy who, without having imagined it then, started this adventure of my being an economist 15 years ago with me and continues, after all these years, many moves and three children, with the same patience and interest in my career in spite of my believing that deep down she thinks that all economists were made to make weathermen look good. And finally, to my parents who, through their dreams for their children´s education and through their enthusiasm in supporting all of our decisions, have been a fundamental and constant pillar in both my, and my siblings´, lives.

Thank you!