and malmendier et al. ( 2021 ) for seminal papers on these behavioral factors. findings, how individuals react to inflation surprises depends to a considerable extent on the “ data series ” of inflation experiences they have accumulated during their lifetime. translating these results into the context of the current episode of surging prices can provide some thought - provoking insights. for example, whereas the inflation experiences of younger cohorts of policymakers would seem to be particularly dominated by persistently low inflation, the more senior colleagues among us are more likely to remember the high and volatile inflation periods of the 1970s and 1980s. according to my calculations, the mean age of the current members of the ecb governing council is 58 years. 5 in other words, the average central bank governor in the euro area may be too young to have a memory of the prelude to the volcker shocks. so, my little thought experiment yields an unambiguous policy implication : we clearly need a minimum age mandate for monetary policy committees to better foresee future inflation surges. in - the unlikely - case that you are skeptical about the unbiasedness of my scientifically grounded recommendations on this topic, i would strongly advise you to attend today ’ s session 2 and tomorrow ’ s first academic session, both on inflation expectations and perceptions. furthermore, tomorrow ’ s final session 4 will also teach us more on how we can make use of the wealth of micro data out there to better grasp real - time and past developments of the inflation process. sometimes we need to take a step back in order to find the right words to accurately describe the way forward. in his famous memoirs, “ the world of yesterday ”, austrian author stefan zweig painted a rosy picture of pre - 1914 europe as a “ world of security ”. 6 to zweig, world war i represented a watershed moment from which the continent never fully recovered during his lifetime, and which would shape the political, economic and social arena for years and decades to come. for europeans, russia ’ s invasion of ukraine in late february 2022 will likely mark a similar turning point in history. once again, a hitherto unthinkable war brought the european dream of a “ world of security ” to an abrupt end. first and foremost - and this point needs to be stated outright - this war causes unimaginable and unnecessary human suffering and destruction in ukraine. from the perspective of monetary policy, this war also puts a fresh spotlight on two drivers of inflationary

robert holzmann governor oesterreichische nationalbank opening remarks vienna, may 23, 2022 check against delivery! the return of inflation! opening remarks for the 49th oenb economic conference on 23 may ladies and gentlemen! it is my great pleasure to welcome you to this year ’ s oenb economic conference and suerf colloquium. let me start by thanking you all for joining us, both virtually and in person. i would also like to extend my very heartfelt gratitude to the distinguished speakers, panelists, and researchers who have agreed to join us and contribute to this event. a big “ thank you ” also goes to suerf. this joint conference is yet another step in the long - standing close and fruitful cooperation which we have successfully pursued for more than two decades. [ pause ] it has almost become standard to open a conference by emphasizing that its main topic “ could not be timelier ”. let me try and convince you that these are not just empty words when it comes to the 49th oenb economic conference and 35th suerf colloquium. when we started out organizing this event half a year ago, we still had a question mark featuring in the conference title. back then, for many the “ return of inflation ” still seemed a remote, albeit not impossible, scenario. since then, inflation rates have surged in europe and elsewhere to levels we have not seen for more than four decades. according to the eurobarometer survey, inflation already represented the second most important concern of europeans in early 2022, even before the start of the war in ukraine. 1 c. f. standard eurobarometer 96, winter 2021 - 2022. the survey was conducted between 18 january and 14 february 2022. inflation was mentioned as the most important concern by 24 % of all respondents. the most important concern of europeans was the environment and climate change ( 26 % of respondents ). publisher and editor : oesterreichische nationalbank otto - wagner - platz 3, 1010 vienna, po box 61 as dutiful central bankers, we have reacted forcefully and in a swift manner to these dramatic developments : namely, by dropping the question mark from our conference title. yet, i admit, to my taste, we could have probably done much more than that - for example, by adding an exclamation mark. on a more serious note, the underlying question why so few people saw inflation coming is indeed both challenging and stimulating