our review progresses. of course, we may find that the preferred approach is modest enhancements to the tools that proved their worth during the crisis. listening now, how does today ’ s event fit into all of this? just as the federal reserve bank of richmond is sponsoring today ’ s event with representatives of its local community, so too are other reserve banks sponsoring similar events. we are making sure to hear from people across the country. we will also hold a national - level conference in chicago in june. and, in addition to presentations from prominent outside experts, we made sure to add panels to hear from community organizations, training institutions, and other groups that can give us insights on how monetary policy is affecting main street. since i arrived at the fed, i have put a premium on visiting communities all over the country to get a direct sense of how they are experiencing the economy. in fact, my first such visit was in this district with community development staff from the federal reserve bank of richmond. due to the wisdom of the fed ’ s original architects, the federal reserve system derives tremendous value from interacting with communities from all around the country. in 2015, we created a community advisory council at the federal reserve board, where we hear from a broad variety of community groups and others. and many of the regional federal reserve banks have similar councils, including the richmond fed ’ s community investment council. in our review this year, we are listening broadly and are seeking perspectives at the community level. so today we want to hear from you. how is your community experiencing today ’ s economy? is everyone who wants a job able to get one? can they get the necessary training? are businesses finding it relatively easy to hire the workers they need? what about inflation and pricing power? and what about the availability and cost of credit — whether it be to start or expand a small business, buy a car to get to work, or invest in owning a home or getting a degree? i look forward to hearing your views on these and other questions. 1 i am grateful to john roberts of the federal reserve board for his assistance in preparing this text. these remarks represent my own views, which do not necessarily represent those of the federal reserve board or the federal open market committee. 2 janet l. yellen, “ revolution and evolution in central bank communications, ” remarks at the haas school of business, university of california, berkeley, berkeley, california, november 13, 2012. richard h. clarida, “

. in 2009 – 2013, this impact was negative by 0. 4 % ; this period experienced shocks that hit european economies after the crisis. afterwards, particularly in 2014, remittances increased notably due to the tendency of emigrants to withdraw their money from european banks ( particularly from banks in greece ) 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches and send them as deposits in albania. currently, in 2015 – 2017, the contribution of remittances is estimated at 0. 2 % of economic growth. the importance of remittances on economic growth has declined over the years, also in line with the strengthening of domestic growth factors ; yet, they remain an important element of disposable income and, therefore, a determinant factor for the performance of consumption in albania. remittances have an important role in alleviating poverty and mitigating social problems for certain categories of the society. the second aspect is the positive impact on the labour market dynamics. the export of the labour force ( emigration ) tends to push wages upward in albania, by better balancing labour demand and supply. on the other hand, it diversifies the supply of albania for qualified labour. despite the increase of remittances and their upward contribution to economic growth, a lot remains to be done to foster the role of the diaspora and create more opportunities for a better economic use of their savings, as well as to help boost the albanian economy. it is difficult to make an exact calculation of remittances due to the numerous formal and informal channels of their flows. our banking system does not yet facilitate remote access and use of bank accounts by emigrants, in order for them to able to easily use them while in their respective countries ; the cost of banking transactions are higher and often banking procedures are perceived as complicated. due to these factors, in the case of albania, only 4 % of remittances are channelled through the banking system, 57 % through non - bank financial institutions and 39 % in the form of cash. the economic result is that remittances are disbursed in cash at 96 % and this form of payment diminishes the multiplying impact of their contribution to economic growth. as regulator of the banking and payments systems, the bank of albania is strongly committed to promote and facilitate the transfer of remittances in the albanian economy : first, by modernizing the procedures and alleviating transfer costs for remittances