and income mobility are among the most important that we face as a nation and as a region. these issues are particularly relevant for our region because the second district is home to some of the highest and lowest levels of wage inequality in the country. next, research officer jaison abel will discuss regional economic conditions and wage inequality. thank you for your kind attention. 1 jaison abel, jason bram, gerard dages, richard deitz and joseph tracy assisted in preparing these remarks. 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches 2 see william c. dudley, benefits and challenges from globalization, may 11, 2017. 3 pew research center, “ global publics more upbeat about the economy, ” june 5, 2017. 4 chetty, raj, nathaniel hendren, patrick kline, and emmanuel saez. 2014. “ where is the land of opportunity? the geography of intergenerational mobility in the united states, ” quarterly journal of economics, 129 ( 4 ) : 1553 – 1623. chetty, raj and nathaniel hendren. 2016. “ the impacts of neighborhoods on intergenerational mobility ii : county - level estimates, ” national bureau of economic research working paper no. 23002, december. 5 see william c. dudley, economic opportunity and income mobility, april 11, 2016. 6 heckman, james j. 2006. “ skill formation and the economics of investing in disadvantaged children, ” science 312, 1900. 7 for a discussion of examples from rochester and other parts of the region, see william c. dudley, workforce development and reinvention in the rochester economy, august 12, 2015. 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches

agreement, there is a clear need “ to promote international monetary co - operation ” through “ consultation and collaboration ” on these “ international monetary problems ” that we now face in the asian region. the way forward 40. i would like now to spell out how i think monetary co - operation in this region should proceed. in order to have effective monetary co - operation, we must have clearly defined and realistic goals. over - ambitious goals may not be credible, and may even be counterproductive. in any case, they may not be politically acceptable to the individual economies. monetary co - operation, and indeed any type of co - operation, is meaningless when you do not have common goals. 41. notwithstanding increasing economic integration, one has to accept reality, and this is that the economies in asia are a very diverse group. there are dramatic differences with regard to political institutions, economic systems, basic infrastructure and any aspect you care to think of. in terms of economic structure, for example, they range from some of the largest agricultural economies in the world to the most urban economies. in terms of economic philosophy, they range from some of the freest economies in the world to economies where there is considerable central planning. in terms of the stage of economic development, they range from economies with the highest per capita incomes to those still with a large part of their population living in poverty. in terms of financial sector development, they range from sophisticated international financial centres with deep financial markets and robust financial infrastructures to those which have just begun building their financial systems. 42. reflecting such diversity, there are also dramatic differences in policies, in terms of the objectives pursued and the approaches to achieving those objectives. focusing specifically on monetary policy, although there seems to be a clear consensus on the desirability of maintaining currency stability, there is great diversity on the degree of clarity with which this is defined. for some, currency stability is what the government thinks is politically expedient at the time. for others, currency stability is defined in the clearest of terms. associated with this, there is also great diversity in the degree of independence of the monetary authorities and the degree of discretion available to them arising from the different monetary or exchange rate regimes practised. nothing can be more polar than, for example, the currency board version of a fixed exchange regime in hong kong and the totally free float of new zealand. given differences in the economic and financial structure on the one hand, and differences in policy objectives and approaches on the