they inflict significant damage. to be sure, considerable uncertainty attends the near - term outlook for the u. s. economy, and recent readings on production and employment have been disappointing. however, a balanced assessment would also take into consideration the fact that the reduction in iraq - related uncertainties and some recent positive news regarding corporate earnings have caused the tenor of financial markets to improve noticeably : equity prices have risen, risk premiums of corporate debt have fallen, crude oil prices have declined sharply, and consumer confidence has rebounded since the early spring. whether this improvement in overall financial conditions is a precursor to sustained recovery in the broader economy is unclear. fortunately, for the longer term, productivity growth in the united states has remained remarkably robust. rapid growth of output per hour boosts expectations of future advances in wages and profits, leading eventually to higher aggregate demand. another key difference between the two countries is that the u. s. financial system continues to function smoothly. domestic commercial banks are very profitable overall and are well capitalized, and bank regulators have shown a willingness to move quickly to address problems. in contrast, japanese banks remain saddled with a significant volume of nonperforming loans. accordingly, the process of financial intermediation through banks has been constricted, hampering the bank of japan ’ s attempts to increase liquidity and to stimulate the flow of credit. on a related point, the existence of highly developed and integrated u. s. financial markets means that the proportion of financing flows intermediated by the banking system in the united states is considerably smaller than in japan ’ s bank - centered financial system. as a result, the transmission of monetary policy in the united states operates through multiple and complementary channels. japan ’ s dependence on the banking system, a system that has largely ceased to function, represents a further constraint on the transmission of monetary policy in that country. thus, it seems appropriate for japan to continue its efforts to develop deeper and more liquid capital markets. demand for business and consumer credit in the united states is stronger than in japan, and corporate balance sheets are in better shape. the continued rapid pace of technological innovation is likely to create expanding opportunities for profitable investment and thereby strengthen further the demand for credit. although business spending on fixed capital has yet to stage a convincing comeback, firms eventually will have to increase such outlays, given the relatively high rates of depreciation on certain types of capital. finally, as mentioned earlier, by the time the bank of

adriana d kugler : enriching data and analysis in economics with real life experiences speech by ms adriana d kugler, member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the women in economics symposium, federal reserve bank of st. louis, st. louis, missouri, 4 april 2024. * * * thank you, president musalem, and many congratulations on the start of your new position here at the st. louis fed. we are all so happy to have you as part of the federal reserve system, and i am grateful for the opportunity to speak here today. 1 i will start with the issue that has brought us here - why it is so important for women to be a full and equitably represented part of the economics profession. there are, of course, moral reasons for economics to reflect the values of our democratic society - it is the right thing to do. but there are eminently practical reasons as well. economics favors the productive utilization of resources, and bringing more women into the profession obviously makes better use of the talents and efforts of more than half of the population. greater diversity in a workforce yields better ideas and greater productivity, and the field of economics has certainly been enriched by these contributions. but today, i would like to focus on the benefits of greater representation of women that accrue to economic research and policymaking - the way that you can make economic analysis more constructive and relevant. in a broad sense, different experiences and perspectives among those engaged in any social science should provide better insights about how people think and act. but i would like to take this point a step further and connect this issue of representation to the ways in which we approach economic research. in particular, i will describe how my own personal experience has been an important tool for me to use, in combination with the more familiar and rigorous tools of the economist, in ways that i believe have strengthened my research. in doing so, i also hope to show that personal experience can be used by you and others in our profession to provide deeper insights about the questions we grapple with. if this is true, it would constitute another way in which greater representation of women - and others with underrepresented backgrounds - will increase and enhance the valuable contributions that economics makes to society. in my discussion, i will refer to some of my own past research to illustrate my general approach to economics. importantly, though, my comments today are only illustrative of a general approach