ben s bernanke : teaching and learning about the federal reserve remarks by mr ben s bernanke, chairman of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, at a teacher town hall meeting “ 100 years of the federal reserve ”, washington dc, 13 november 2013. * * * thank you for that introduction. tonight marks the third time in just a little over three years that the federal reserve system has hosted a teacher town hall, and i am very pleased to have this opportunity to speak with educators, both those of you here in washington, d. c., and those watching at reserve bank gatherings around the country. i look forward to your questions in a few moments. but let me begin by briefly discussing an important milestone for the federal reserve – its centennial – and the opportunity that this occasion affords to teach and learn about the fed ’ s origins, history, and role, and about how this institution has helped shape the nation ’ s economy and financial system. president woodrow wilson signed the federal reserve act, which established the federal reserve system, on december 23, 1913. as the 100th anniversary of that event approaches, we have several reasons to look back at an eventful century. one important reason is to better understand what historical experience can teach us about how best to respond to current challenges. for example, as many of you know, the bold measures the fed took in response to the recent financial crisis reflected in part its determination to avoid repeating the sorts of mistakes it made before and during the great depression of the 1930s. similarly, our commitment to safeguarding price stability is reinforced by memories of the costs of high inflation during the 1970s and the federal reserve ’ s subsequent restoration of price stability under chairman volcker during the 1980s. beyond the insights that the study of the federal reserve ’ s first 100 years offer to economists, historians, and policymakers about how the fed can best meet its objectives today and in the future, a second reason to mark the centennial is the opportunity it affords to educate young people about the federal reserve and its important role in promoting a healthy economy and stable financial system. when i was an educator, i quickly came to understand that students are most motivated to learn when they can see the connection of the lesson to their own lives. the fed and its activities, and economics in general, can seem remote from daily concerns. but as teachers, you can show students how the federal reserve ’ s decisions concretely affect them and their families. the fed

niklaus blattner : the demographic challenge – macroeconomic perspectives summary of a speech by mr niklaus blattner, vice - chairman of the governing board of the swiss national bank, at the conference " die alternde gesellschaft als sozio - okonomische herausforderung " ( the aging society : a socio - economic challenge ), university of basel, basel, 9 february 2007. the complete speech can be found in german on the swiss national bank ’ s website ( www. snb. ch ). * * * demographic aging, i. e. the growing average age of the population, or the reversal of the age pyramid, is also a matter of concern for a central bank. without a careful analysis of the long - term developments in the real economy, any monetary policy assessment, and consequently any inflation forecast, will be inadequate. in addition to the activities in the money and capital markets, the longterm growth outlook – and thus also the population perspectives – are factored into the swiss national bank's monetary policy assessment. the aging of the population is a fact. it is linked to three main trends, which will greatly influence switzerland's demographic landscape in the decades to come : first, the economically active population will decrease, second, the old - age ratio, i. e. the ratio of people over 65 to those between 20 and 64 is on the rise, and third, longevity is increasing. in future, switzerland will have to produce more with fewer resources. " fewer resources " because the economically active population is declining, " produce more " because the old - age ratio is worsening and longevity increasing. the consequences for the macroeconomic outlook are clear : if labour productivity and / or labour input fail to improve, the impending demographic development will lead to slower medium and long - term growth. it is thus all the more important that labour productivity increases. the growth in labour productivity depends primarily on workplace capital and product market success. it would be ill advised, however, to make oversimplified calculations. neither technological progress nor capital investment are unaffected by demographic aging. while enthusiasm for embracing innovation may decrease with old age, greater experience can enrich human capital. on the one hand, a tighter labour market can be counteracted by shoring up investment. on the other hand, both the savings and the investment rate can decline. if foreign locations become more attractive, the latter is a particularly likely scenario. it is not clear how the