Jerome H Powell: Welcoming remarks - "Conversation with the
Chairman: A Teacher Town Hall Meeting"
Welcoming remarks by Mr Jerome H Powell, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System, at Conversation with the Chairman: A Teacher Town Hall Meeting, Washington
DC, 6 February 2019.
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Thank you to all the educators who are here with us in Washington or are joining us online. I look
forward to responding to your questions. But first, I have a few thoughts about the vital work you
do as economics educators and its connection to what the Federal Reserve is trying to
accomplish. I promise to be brief, because it is a school night.
I am here today, and the Fed has organized this event, because of the importance of economics
education. Some of your students may go on to become professional economists, but all of
them, I hope, will apply the valuable lessons and the skills they have gained from economics in
other careers and in others aspects of their lives.
Studying economics can benefit students in multiple ways. The lessons of economics are
valuable in a wide variety of vocations. Moreover, the knowledge gained will empower students
as consumers, managers of their own finances, and as informed citizens. Economics has been
consistently useful to me over my career in law, finance, and government service. It is, of course,
central to my current role as a monetary policymaker and financial regulator.
In government, economic analysis is one of the principal tools we use in making policy decisions.
Among other things, economics is an essential facet of the science of public policy. What
policies actually work? Which ones sound good but don't work, or are actually
counterproductive? Economics gives us the tools to answer those questions and help us make the best
the decisions on behalf of the public.
Of course, economics is not only the basis for judgments and decisions made by the Fed and
other government agencies. It also underpins the countless decisions by consumers,
businesses, and investors that drive economic activity. The concepts you teach and apply in the
classroom guide those decisions and even help explain human behavior outside of the workings
of the economy. For example, to continue to grow and succeed, any business owner should
understand the differences between fixed cost, variable cost, average cost, and marginal cost.
Businesses and investors need to understand present or discounted value, but so should any
parent or grandparent starting a college fund. Economics teaches us about the power of
incentives, which are central to thinking about and understanding regulatory and tax policy. But
incentives also help motivate people in a variety of other settings, such as encouraging students
to do their best in school, helping reduce traffic jams, or even nudging someone to save more or
to exercise regularly. Economics is a practical and powerful tool for understanding how we relate
to each other.
And that's why what you do for your students is so important. Like all teachers, you are helping
prepare them for success in life. The knowledge you impart and the intellect and talents you help
develop are tools that your students can use to achieve that success. Economics teaches
analytical and critical thinking skills useful to anyone. Part of your students' success is their
economic success as capable, creative, and productive members of the workforce and as
consumers adept at managing their finances. Your students benefit from this education, but so
does everyone else in society. We all benefit when better-educated citizens support economic
policies that help our nation prosper. We all benefit from the capability, creativity, and productivity
of our workforce, because nothing is more important to a healthy and growing economy.
Responsible consumers skilled in managing their finances are better prepared to weather bad
times, and stronger household finances overall can help sustain economic growth and mitigate a
downturn.
Stabilizing growth and mitigating a downturn, of course, are aspects of the Federal Reserve's
mission. Monetary policy can be a powerful tool to achieve these ends, but, in truth, its powers
are dwarfed by larger forces, such as the productivity of the American people and the strength of
their finances. By educating students and supporting their future contributions to the economy as
workers and consumers, all teachers, especially economics teachers, are furthering our goals at
the Fed, so let me offer my further thanks for making our job easier.
To help support your work as teachers, the Federal Reserve Board and the 12 Reserve Banks
conduct programs, organize events, and publish books to spread knowledge of economics,
financial literacy, and the role of the Fed in promoting a healthy economy and financial system.
You can find some of those resources at our websites: FederalReserve.gov and
FederalReserveEducation.org.
Each of the Reserve Banks has community outreach and educational initiatives, and the
outreach to economics teachers is coordinated by the System Economic Education Group,
which has been chaired by Princeton Williams.
At the Board of Governors, for some years we have operated a program called FedEd, which
sends Board employees into high schools throughout the Washington, D.C., area. This outreach
depends on several dozen volunteers from our staff-typically, recent college graduates-who
help teach about the Fed, economics and finance, and answer questions about work
opportunities at the Board. The Federal Reserve is dedicated to promoting diversity in our ranks
and in the economics profession, and FedEd and other programs across the Federal Reserve
System have helped advance this goal by reaching many schools with significant numbers of
minority students.
Let me leave it there, and again thank you for participating in this town hall, and thank you for the
valuable work you do every school day.