##s are repaired. where does all this leave us? the argument that it ’ s possible to grow the economy without much increase in inflation is, of course, seductive and enticing. it ’ s like being offered a free lunch. and yes, there are some grounds for thinking that the trade - off between growth and inflation may well be unusually favourable. but how strong those mechanisms actually are is far from clear. and it seems for a more detailed discussion of some of these points, see mccafferty ( 2013 ). there are a number of empirical studies that suggest financial crisis can have material effects on productivity and output. see, for example, furceri, d and mouragane, a ( 2009 ), oulton, n and sebastia - barriel, m ( 2013 ), imf world economic outlook ( 2009 ). bis central bankers ’ speeches particularly optimistic to assume that the financial crisis and the near crippling of our banking system has played little role in the recent limp supply - side performance of our economy. taken to its limit, the argument that monetary policy can be used to expand demand with little or no implications for inflation challenges the consensus that the best contribution that monetary policy can make to the long - term health and prosperity of the economy is to deliver price stability. that consensus is based on painful experience that monetary policy can ’ t affect the level of output in the long run. that we can ’ t generate permanently higher output and permanently higher employment simply by printing more money. 9 we should be nervous about how quickly we overturn that consensus. conclusion and summary let me conclude. the financial crisis has thrust the rather reserved world of central banking and monetary policy into the spotlight. that is both understandable and healthy. monetary policy failed to prevent the financial crisis. and in many countries, including the uk, it has failed to stimulate the growth that we all long to see. it ’ s only right that inflation targeting – the dominant paradigm governing the operation of monetary policy in much of the industrialised world – should be questioned and challenged. and to my mind it has a good story to tell. the inflation target ensures that the primary objective of monetary policy is to deliver price stability. but it affords the flexibility that it can be operated in such a way as to support output and employment. the mpc has used that flexibility to the full in recent years : it has been at the forefront of providing support to our economy in the aftermath of

those with autism. page ( 2007 ). “ beautiful minds, wasted : how not to squander the potential of autistic people ”, the economist april 2016. temple grandin ( 2011 ). bis central bankers ’ speeches once cognitive diversity is recognised, the next step is measurement. this, too, is far from straightforward because the dimensions of cognition and personality are many and varied. yet there is no shortage of psychometric tests these days which seek to capture these many and various dimensions. and, increasingly, these tests are being applied in recruitment decisions, when seeking to match the characteristics of potential employees to an organisation. these same tests have been far less often used by organisations to gauge the cognitive diversity of their existing employees. for example, there is no reason they could not be used to construct a cognitive map of an entire organisation to gauge its degree of cognitive diversity. making transparent that cognitive map would then provide incentives to take seriously any lack of cognitive diversity, as well as enabling peer comparison. as the measurement technology exists, these would be big but eminently feasible steps for organisations to take. to be futuristic for a moment, magnetic resonance imaging ( mri ) scans these days provide a different lens on cognitive and personality traits – a techni - colour cognitive map. it is early days to be drawing firm links between the brain ’ s wiring and individual character traits, but progress has been rapid. as one example, the neuro - biology company emotiv lifesciences has created a brainwave reading rig, which offers real - time analysis of cognitive activity. 65 while we are some way from arming ourselves with only an mri scan when judging performance and potential, perhaps in future that will not seem so fanciful. the bank is taking steps to improve its own cognitive diversity. for example, it has sought to widen the range of disciplines from which it recruits over the past few years. of this year ’ s graduate cohort, only 40 % has a degree in pure economics and finance. i say “ only ” because, as recently as 2009, the corresponding fraction would have been 60 %. this year ’ s graduate cohort is drawn from diverse disciplines ranging from particle physics to aerospace engineering to ancient history. disciplinary diversity is on the rise. that in part reflects changes to the bank ’ s responsibilities, as over recent years it has taken on new staff and new tasks. those tasks require different skills and experience – commercial and operational skills, as well as analytical. that has