##cked globalisation of trade and finance – the washington consensus – was the best way of creating prosperity. any remaining reservations on the subject were abandoned. economists and politicians gave it their blessing and, in developed economies, made an incorrect diagnosis that went along the following lines : it ’ s no problem, for sure technological progress and globalisation will destroy low - skilled jobs, but we will still have an advantage, because we ’ re going to invest in r & d and education, and the goods and services we produce will be of better quality and we will sell them to less advanced economies. but it didn ’ t work that way, and there are two reasons for this, in my view. first, emerging economies, and china in particular, have seen much quicker improvements in quality than expected, and at the same time technological disruption has meant that technical progress hasn ’ t just destroyed lowskilled jobs, it is also destroying medium - skilled jobs and maybe soon, as a result of artificial intelligence, start affecting high - skilled jobs. second, we didn ’ t manage to invest in education and r & d that would have enabled us to stay ahead. education is an area that is particularly concerning and one of the big challenges for france, looking at the findings of the oecd and of the public think tank france strategie. by 2030, one in five people will be over 65. is it possible that, at some point in the future, there will be quantitative easing for financing of the voluntary sector? for the kinds of investment in associations which, since they provide support for elderly people and employ large numbers of people, are known to generate wellbeing, health, and so on? i disagree, but for institutional reasons rather than economic ones. it ’ s clear that significant demographic developments change the structure of our economies and, thus, the way in which we conduct monetary policy. for instance, the japanese presidency of the g20 has made demographic change one of its priorities for 2019. we ’ ve had seminars, among central banks too, on its impact on relative prices, inflation and the structure of production. but the ecb doesn ’ t have a mandate to finance adjustments in the economy. money creation holds a certain fascination, and there is always a temptation to project public policy failings onto the ecb by asking it to remedy them. there is the same debate about adjusting to climate change, which some expect the ecb to finance. but asking the ecb to finance

lisa d cook : exploring careers in economics welcoming remarks by ms lisa d cook, member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the " exploring careers in economics " conference, sponsored by the board of governors of the federal reserve system, washington dc, 4 april 2023. * * * good afternoon, and welcome to " exploring careers in economics. " i am disappointed i cannot be with you in person, but i am thrilled you will hear from boston fed president susan collins. she is an outstanding colleague and economist, a good friend. you are in for a fantastic discussion. this event has a fairly self - explanatory title - exploring careers in economics. but the broad range of opportunities is anything but straightforward. economics touches every aspect of daily life, and you can see its impact in the world outside your door - and inside as well. some of you are veterans of economic study, while some of you are just " econ - curious. " either way, i hope that when you sign off today, you will have a totally different view of what economics can offer you. i was raised by academics in a college town, but even that access and insight did not give me the full picture of what was out there. a career in economics can take you in directions you never thought possible. we live in a constantly changing world, which means there is always new research to undertake, questions to be posed, and ground to break. my own studies allowed me to investigate everything from the impact of patents on the nation's economic growth to the banking system in post - soviet russia. they also took me to the archives of the kremlin and to university in the united kingdom and senegal. and that was just during my education! my career has taken me all over the globe. economics can take you just about anywhere, figuratively and literally. so i do hope that we do a good job of showing you the world of possibilities in the field. because economics needs you. any field that studies the behavior of an entire population, as economics does, should reflect the population it studies. we all come to the table with different experiences and backgrounds, which give each of us unique perspectives. your generation has seen two once - in - a - century economic events within two decades. your economic experiences are different from anyone else's. that insight and understanding will be critical to policymakers. the economics profession needs your perspective. future fed staff, governors, and chairs may