mark w olson : revisiting traditional paths to ownership remarks by mr mark w olson, member of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, at the community development policy summit : exploring the benefits and challenges of an ownership society, federal reserve bank of cleveland, cleveland, ohio, 23 june 2005. * * * i ’ m pleased to be here today to discuss the benefits and challenges of the ownership society. meetings such as this policy summit are extremely useful forums for exchanging ideas and working toward common goals. and, the goals of those of us involved in community development have not changed over the years. we all want to create healthy, sustainable local economies that provide good jobs, decent housing, and educational opportunities for everyone. at the core of all community development activity is the understanding that individual ownership is one of the most important components of economic and social success, whether in the form of the purchase of a home or an investment in education or a small business. immigrants instinctively understand that america is an ownership society and, in fact, come here in search of the ownership opportunities that increase the well - being of family members both here and at home. immigrant communities often create their own economies, establishing the relationships necessary to support one another in finding work, starting small businesses, pursuing education, and purchasing homes. this model has worked for generations of newcomers to the united states. it exemplifies how each group finds its own formula for success based on its skills, culture, and community norms. for many years, community development efforts were stymied by federal policies that provided one - size - fits - all programs - most of which focused on housing - to communities with very different needs. over the last thirty years we have learned from our missteps. we now understand that effective community development involves a comprehensive approach focused not only on providing housing, but also on creating programs that increase residents ’ capacities to make economic contributions to the community. such programs would support entrepreneurs, provide job training, and facilitate services such as transportation and child care. federal policies are now designed to recognize the importance of local participation in formulating neighborhood development strategies. successful strategies take into account the unique attributes of each neighborhood, including the skills of its labor force, existing businesses, economic synergies, and the culture and norms of the community. as federal policy has evolved, its role has shifted from being the sole source of funding through direct appropriation to providing tax incentives and credit enhancements that encourage private investment by offsetting

christian noyer : inflation, financial innovation and monetary policies – some contemporary challenges speech by mr christian noyer, governor of the bank of france, at the gic and cepii conference, paris, 13 may 2008. * * * inflation pressures are now at work in most parts of the world. today, i would like to start with offering some comments on this worrying development and then elaborate on the challenges raised by financial innovation for monetary policies. the current rise in global inflation appears in stark contrast with the price stability recorded over the past decades. during the last twenty years, globalisation has made a significant contribution to price stability. with new large players ( such as china and india ) entering the world economy, cheap imports of manufactured goods have become available to developed countries. the fall in import prices has allowed real consumption wages to grow without impacting real production wages. this, in turn, has lowered the inflation rate for any given level of employment. in parallel, the effects of globalisation have been felt more indirectly through increased competition, both on products and labour markets. inflation dynamics have also changed. maybe the most documented and commented - on of these changes has been the so - called flattening of the phillips curve. this, in economic jargon, means that domestic inflation has become less sensitive to the domestic output gap, or, alternatively, that it has become more stable during the business cycle. there are several possible – and not mutually exclusive – explanations for this phenomenon. expectations may be more solidly anchored, which would lessen the impact of the output gap on current inflation. it is also possible that, as a result of structural reforms, the nairu has decreased in many countries in recent years, thus giving the " optical " impression of a horizontal phillips curve during this period. in a broader sense, globalisation itself may also be responsible for the flattening of the phillips curve. in an open economy, domestic demand changes can easily be satisfied through increased imports. as a consequence, domestic inflation may become less sensitive to the domestic output gap and more sensitive to global tensions on production capacities. overall, these developments have made it easier for central banks to bring down inflation without real costs to the economy. but it is clear, today, that these effects are being reversed. the prices of oil, food and other commodities are now increasing fast. there might be three reasons for this rise ( the importance of which is currently hotly debated ) : first a supplydemand im