jerome h powell : monetary policy in the post - crisis era speech by mr jerome h powell, chair of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at " bretton woods : 75 years later - thinking about the next ", a conference organized by the bank of france and the french ministry for the economy and finance, paris, 16 july 2019. * * * seventy - five years ago this month, the foremost economic and policy minds of their generation gathered in a sleepy mountain town in new england. while world war ii still raged, they envisioned a new international monetary system with rules, procedures, and institutions — including the international monetary fund ( imf ) and the world bank — to promote recovery and stability in a war - ravaged world. today we gather in paris, the city of light, to recognize their vision. the bretton woods institutions played a pivotal role after the war in rebuilding economies and in facilitating the international economic relations that are essential to prosperity. generations later, the world bank and the imf continue to play important roles in fostering global monetary cooperation, financial stability, and international trade, as well as in promoting sustainable economic growth and reducing poverty. in 1944, those who sat around the table at the mount washington hotel knew that the trauma and tragedy of the war and the great depression had fundamentally altered the economic systems that preceded them. for us, around our dinner tables tonight, a decade has passed since the global financial crisis. although in no way comparable to the devastating events of the 1930s and 1940s, the crisis represents the deepest and broadest financial upheaval since that era, and in many ways, we, too, are grappling with a changed world. today ’ s conference has looked at this post - crisis environment and the issues we now face from many angles. i am grateful to the banque de france for organizing this important event and to the outstanding speakers for their deep insights. tonight i will offer some thoughts on this new environment. i will begin with a discussion of current economic conditions in the united states, and then highlight some significant structural changes in the environment facing monetary policymakers in the post - crisis era. finally, i will consider how these structural changes are affecting the framework in which we conduct monetary policy, highlighting the federal reserve system ’ s ongoing review of our monetary policy strategy, tools, and communications. the u. s. economy is now in its 11th consecutive year of growth. unemployment has steadily declined from its 10 percent post - crisis peak

in every reserve bank district, to hear directly from the constituencies we serve. these events have been live - streamed on the internet. last month, we hosted a research conference at the federal reserve bank of chicago to explore ways to more effectively and sustainably achieve our mandated goals. beginning soon, the fomc will devote time at its regular meetings to assessing the lessons from these events. we will publicly report the conclusions of our discussions, likely during the first half of next year. 5 other central banks, many represented in this room, are also looking deeply at the challenges posed by the current environment and assessing tools and strategies. i look forward to learning from your experiences and sharing ours in the coming months and years as we face the trials and opportunities of this new era. for all of us, the turmoil that preceded this new world was severe, although not as extreme as that faced by those around the table in bretton woods 75 years ago. tonight let us celebrate their success and strive so that our vision for the future of the global economic and financial system proves as durable and as effective. 1 see alan greenspan ( 1988 ), “ trade deficit and budget deficit, ” c - span video of a speech delivered at the economic club of new york, new york, june 14, ( quoted remark is 3 minutes, 20 seconds into the video ). 2 see bank of canada ( 2018 ), “ bank to review the monetary policy framework ahead of 2021 renewal, says senior deputy governor wilkins, ” press release, november 20, ( quoted text is in paragraph 1 ) ; and carolyn a. wilkins ( 2018 ), “ choosing the best monetary policy framework for canada, ” speech delivered at the mcgill university max bell school of public policy, montreal, november 20. 3 see huw van steenis ( 2019 ), “ the future of finance report, ” bank of england, june 20. 4 see jerome h. powell ( 2019 ), “ economic outlook and monetary policy review, ” speech delivered at the council on foreign relations, new york, june 25. 5 more details on fed listens events and related information are available on the board ’ s website at www. federalreserve. gov / monetarypolicy / review - of - monetary - policy - strategy - tools - and - communications - fedlistens - events. htm. 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches