jwala rambarran : monetary policy presentation for november 2014 speech by mr jwala rambarran, governor of the central bank of trinidad and tobago, at the chaguanas chamber of industry and commerce, port - of - spain, 1 december 2014. * * * ladies and gentlemen, i thank the chaguanas chamber of industry and commerce for graciously agreeing to host our third monetary policy forum. events such as this monetary policy forum are important to central bank ’ s communication strategies, as communication is now the new monetary policy tool for central banks around the world. from debe to tobago and now chaguanas, this forum provides a platform to explain the thinking behind our monetary policy actions, interact with stakeholders and account to the national community, who we are here to serve. as we enter the final month of 2014, global economic prospects are muted compared to the more optimistic sentiments which prevailed at the start of the year. recovery from the global crisis is taking longer than anyone expected. more than a half decade onwards and many countries are still struggling with painful legacies of the crisis, including extraordinarily high debt and soaring unemployment and it ’ s not yet over. the managing director of the international monetary fund, christine lagarde, at the recent annual meetings of the imf and world bank, talked about the “ new mediocre ” as the descriptor for low economic growth which is now the new reality. in the advanced economies, the united states grew at its fastest pace in over decade and the united kingdom is showing encouraging signs of steady growth. recovery in the eurozone remains fragile. japan ’ s economy has slipped back into its fourth recession since 2008. emerging markets, which fuelled a great deal of global activity in the recent past, are likely to do their heavy lifting at a slower pace than before. output growth in china, the world ’ s second - largest economy, has slowed to a five - year low. the indian economy is rallying, while the other two members of the bric bloc, russia and brazil, are facing significant headwinds to growth. still on the international front, there are dark clouds gathering. these clouds coming from the united states are bringing murky conditions associated with normalization of us monetary policy. these conditions have the potential to have a powerful impact on emerging market economies such as trinidad and tobago, when they reach us. as expected, the us federal reserve ended its era of quantitative easing at its october 2014

authorities for information. this pandemic is no exception. we have seen a sharp increase of internet traffic to our website. our articles in the economy, plain and simple and our social media posts are getting twice as many page views than before the pandemic, while traditional content, such as speeches and our monetary policy report, has seen traffic increase by more than 10 percent. this heightened interest is an opportunity, and it is critical that we do not squander it. the forces that are pushing misinformation on the public are preying on this crisis. a segment of the population still mistrusts public authorities and experts. the independence that is vital for central banks and public perceptions of that independence are under threat in many countries. as we work to broaden our engagement, we can be guided by four principles for communicating effectively with the public. the first principle is to tell a story that is coherent and consistent with incoming data and over time. second, public communications should be clear, in plain language and free of jargon. people should be able to understand what we say — always. the third principle is to make public communications relatable and relevant. we should speak to people as public servants and peers, not as oracles delivering messages from an ivory tower. the fourth is to listen. we need to find out and understand what is preoccupying the public, including the perspectives of communities and groups we have not been very good at reaching. and we need to address those preoccupations. conclusion let me conclude. we have each been asked to suggest legacies of the pandemic. these legacies are numerous and far - reaching — the toll of the lives and livelihoods lost, the foregone economic output, social upheaval, changing trade patterns and lasting debt burdens. as we confront these and other legacies, let ’ s make this another legacy — a deeper relationship between the central bank and its citizens. we can capitalize on this moment by enhancing our public communications through coherent, clear and relatable messages ; by helping our citizens understand the broader forces at work in our economy ; and by listening and understanding how our policies affect everyone. these efforts will help us to make better policy decisions, reinforce our legitimacy and cement trust with our citizens. the stakes are high, and this opportunity should not be missed. 1 while canada has been insulated from these trends when compared with the united states and much of europe, we have