worked, and wages relative to workers who did not take the program, and the effects were greatest for women. labor market outcomes improved more for those who received technical skills training, though this difference diminished after less than a year. and, lastly, we found that the effects of the program were indeed magnified by the stipend program. the " wraparound " support enhanced the value of the training program and likely helped mitigate the other labor market challenges faced by participants. this paper again shows how insights gained from personal experience, combined with the deductive methods and tools of economics, can be the basis for good research. as i suspected from my experience with my university of houston students, providing education is more effective, and the returns are higher, when students have some " wraparound " support that makes their lives a bit easier. we took this inductive approach and demonstrated it using standard tools of economics - randomization in a carefully designed experiment. and this approach continued in my past work as a policymaker. at the u. s. department of labor and at the world bank, i confronted questions that resonated for me with experiences i had had and earlier applied in my work as a researcher. at the labor department, i worked on workforce development issues, and we were able to include access to more comprehensive " wraparound " services to promote strong take - up and retention in these programs. when i was advocating for this approach, i thought about my students in houston and those workers in colombia, all of them trying to overcome big challenges and build a better life. and i was grateful then, and i'm grateful now, for 4 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches my personal experiences, which didn't come from a textbook or a lecture but helped open my eyes to the answers to some of the important questions that economics strives to answer. the research and policy work i have just described predate my time as a member of the federal reserve board, and the policies i studied then are outside the purview of my current role. but i continue to apply the general approach of bringing my own experience, and the experiences i hear from others, together with the rigorous tools of economics. i listen to people from a range of communities and backgrounds to better understand the economic data and the statistical analysis we perform while working to make monetary policy decisions within the framework assigned to us by congress that benefit all americans. so i will close my remarks by urging all of you to

karnit flug : money and technology – means of payment in israel main points of a speech by dr karnit flug, governor of the bank of israel, at the money and technology conference ( taking place as part of israel ’ s national science day ), tel - aviv university, tel - aviv, 26 march 2014. * * * in this conference, which deals with innovation and technology, i will not speak about monetary policy, fiscal policy or about the macro situation, nor will shall i speak about any challenges to the macro economic policy, but rather about part of the economy which is rarely discussed – its “ plumbing ”. we always take it for granted, and only speak about it when something goes wrong – when it either leaks or is clogged. this piping, which we call “ payment and settlement systems ”, comprises a number of levels, which include the payment systems, the means of payment – which the public uses on a daily basis – and the communications infrastructure between the system ’ s various components. when making a payment in one way or another, we all assume that the infrastructure ( or piping ) ensures that transactions are performed efficiently and swiftly. the payment and settlement system is a key element of the financial infrastructure, making sure that each and every payment or credit we make or receive arrives at its destination quickly, efficiently and securely. the bank of israel, through its accounting, payment and settlement systems department, serves as its oversight entity and is responsible for its regulation, for operating some parts of it ( zahav [ the real time gross settlement system ] and paper - based ( checks ) clearing house ), as well as for its security and efficiency. i will focus today on those parts of the system, their development in the last few years, as well as on expected developments. the means of payment include both traditional ones – paper based – such as cash, checks and vouchers, and the more advanced – electronic – ones, which include electronic debits and credits, payment cards, web - based payments and mobile payments. each group has its advantages and disadvantages : paper - based means are characterized by ease of use, by availability to all parts of the population, by their immediacy and the finality of a transaction, as well as by being anonymous. under certain conditions, anonymity may become a disadvantage, if used to commit offenses ( such as money laundering, tax evasion, etc. ) other disadvantages of