from the fourth quarter of bis central bankers ’ speeches 2007 until now, rather than being reduced to its actual target range of 0 to 1 / 4 percent, 1 then the unemployment rate would be several percentage points higher than it is today. in other words, by following our actual policy of keeping the target funds rate at its effective lower bound since late 2008, the federal reserve saved millions of jobs that would otherwise have been lost. of course, substantial uncertainty surrounds various specific estimates, but there should be no doubt that the fomc ’ s forceful actions helped mitigate the consequences of the crisis and thereby spared american families and businesses from even greater pain. unconventional monetary policy actions given the magnitude of the global financial crisis and its aftermath, the federal reserve clearly needed to provide additional monetary accommodation beyond simply keeping shortterm interest rates close to zero. consequently, like a number of other major central banks around the world, the fomc has been deploying unconventional policy tools to promote the economic recovery. in particular, we have provided conditional forward guidance about the likely future path of the federal funds rate, and we have engaged in balance sheet operations that involve changes in the size and composition of our securities holdings. broadly speaking, these policy tools affect the economy through channels that are similar – though not identical – to those of conventional monetary policy. i ’ ll now spend a few minutes describing how each form of unconventional policy can be helpful in promoting a stronger economic recovery. monetary policy communication an essential element of good monetary policy is effective communication. in a democratic society, central banks have the responsibility to clearly and fully explain their policy decisions. good communication is also essential for strengthening the effectiveness of monetary policy. expectations about the future play a key role in the decision - making of households and firms : how much to spend, save, work, invest, or hire. moreover, when financial market participants understand how the central bank is likely to react to incoming information, asset prices can adjust in ways that reinforce the central bank ’ s expected policy actions and thereby support the central bank ’ s objectives. finally, clear communication can help anchor the public ’ s long - term inflation expectations and hence improve the extent to which the central bank can take forceful actions to promote job creation in a context of price stability. with the federal funds rate constrained by its effective lower bound, effective communications with the public have become more important than ever. since 2009, the federal reserve has published the committee participants ’ longer - run projections of the inflation rate,

roger w ferguson, jr : the importance of education remarks by roger w ferguson, jr, vice chairman of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, at the commemoration of black history month, the johns hopkins university applied physics laboratory, maryland, 24 february 2006. * * * i am pleased to have the opportunity to be part of the applied physics laboratory's commemoration of black history month. your theme, " celebrating community : a tribute to black technical, educational, and social / civic institutions, " aptly highlights a number of the key building blocks that have enabled many african americans to fulfill their personal dreams. in that regard, i would like to focus my talk today on education - - its importance and its ongoing role in economic achievement. as members of an organization dedicated to cutting - edge scientific research and development, you undoubtedly deeply appreciate the ongoing need for our nation's workforce to embody advanced levels of training. investment in human capital - - as we economists like to call it - - is critical to generating products and services with high economic value. today, much of that high - value output demands workers with the creativity, cognitive abilities, and skills to interact with challenging technologies. in addition, ongoing innovation requires workers to be flexible and to be willing to view education as a life - long commitment. in short, an educated workforce is a must if our economy is to continue to enjoy significant gains in productivity and living standards. at the same time, the link between education and individual economic success is well documented. an investment in education is associated with a higher probability of employment. for african americans, a college degree can substantially narrow the longstanding gap between their labor market experiences and those of whites. last year, for example, when the national unemployment rate averaged 5. 1 percent, the jobless rate for black adults ( 25 years and older ) with a bachelor's degree or higher was 3. 5 percent ; for white adults, the jobless rate was 2 percent. for persons with only a high school diploma, both the rates of joblessness and the disparity between the rate for blacks and that for whites were greater : an unemployment rate of 8. 5 percent for blacks versus 4 percent for whites. perhaps more indicative of the economic value of education, workers with college degrees earn an education premium, and that premium has risen over the past twenty - five years. most economists have found that an additional year of schooling typically raises an individual's earning power between 8 and 15