jens weidmann : hans moller medal acceptance speech speech by dr jens weidmann, president of the deutsche bundesbank and chairman of the board of directors of the bank for international settlements, at the annual meeting of the munich volkswirte alumni - club, munich, 1 july 2016. * * * dear mr baader ladies and gentlemen first of all, i would like to echo the words of welcome offered by our host and likewise welcome you to the bundesbank ’ s regional office in bavaria. the fact that you are holding your annual meeting here at the bundesbank for the third time now after doing so in both 2012 and 2013 is a clear sign that you feel very much at home with us. but as you know, we do offer you a suitable venue and i can assure you, mr baader, that you didn ’ t have to present me with this award to be able to hold your meeting here again. nevertheless, i am of course delighted to receive the hans moller medal and i would like to express my sincere gratitude for this honour. you outlined the reasons for your choice just now, and i value them as support for my efforts to broaden my audience beyond narrow circles of relevant experts when discussing issues of european integration and monetary policy. i also feel encouraged to continue promoting a stability - oriented monetary union. the fact that a club of economists is recognising my efforts to make economic issues accessible to a wider public is very fitting given the words of hans - werner sinn in his farewell lecture – namely that economists must, first and foremost, serve the people. monetary policy and economic education but i ’ m not just an economist – i ’ m also a central banker. in this capacity, i have a special interest in communicating with audiences beyond industry professionals. this is because the successful functioning of any central bank hinges heavily on the support of the general public. or, as otmar issing put it, “ ultimately, every society has the inflation rate that it wants and deserves. ” it is without a doubt easier to implement a stability - oriented monetary policy when the general public holds monetary stability in high regard. what ’ s more, the stronger the public ’ s support for a central bank ’ s stability - oriented stance and the greater the confidence it enjoys, the greater its level of independence becomes. appreciation of monetary stability is, of course, not to be confused with detailed knowledge of the mechanisms of monetary policy, although there is evidence

to suggest that a person ’ s appreciation increases in parallel with the knowledge he or she has about the way in which these two factors interact. a number of studies indicate that economic education has – to put it diplomatically – some room for improvement. the bundesbank has therefore expanded its economic education programmes in recent years. by using educational materials and organising various types of events, we want to improve to the best of our ability the general public ’ s understanding of monetary and foreign exchange policy issues. for example, our regional offices provide teacher training, visit school groups and organise public lectures under the motto “ forum bundesbank ”. the feedback that we have received on these initiatives has been very positive. bis central bankers ’ speeches i myself meet once a year with teachers and once with pupils. time and time again, i see when young people visit the bundesbank that they are very interested in our work and ask intelligent questions. we should, of course, be aware that the impact that such measures can have is limited in terms of both breadth and depth. such was the account recently given by the senior business editor of the frankfurter allgemeine zeitung concerning her own offspring : “ it is a positive thing that [ the bundesbank ] goes into schools to raise awareness about monetary stability and to provide insights into the secrets of interest rate policy. it really is never too early to start tackling such topics in times such as these. however, it should be under no illusions as to the success of its efforts. my child took precisely one term away from the talk given by a bundesbank representative to a year 12 class : marginal lending facility. ” incidentally, this technical term is even on the sixth form curriculum in bavaria. that being said, it is also clear that the jargon that we have become accustomed to as central bankers should not detract from the essentials. the principle of liability as a guide but it is not just vocabulary that detracts from the essentials. nowadays, economists ’ reasoning is highly mathematical and model - oriented, which often makes it difficult for noneconomists to comprehend. however, institutional rules and regulations have also become so complex nowadays that often only a few experts are able to fully understand them. consider the federal financial equalisation system, for example. addressing this subject, peer steinbruck once said, “ there are only three people that really understood this concept. the first is dead. the second is in a mental asylum.