Ben Bernanke Quotes
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People saw the Depression as a necessary thing - a chance to squeeze out the excesses, get back to Puritan morality. That just made things worse.
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Certainly there is no way to direct the effects of monetary policy at a single class of assets while leaving other financial markets and the broader economy untouched. One might as well try to perform brain surgery with a sledgehammer.
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Clear communication is always important in central banking, but it can be especially important when economic conditions call for further policy stimulus but the policy rate is already at its effective lower bound.
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The crisis in Europe has affected the U.S. economy by acting as a drag on our exports, weighing on business and consumer confidence, and pressuring U.S. financial markets and institutions.
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No one will lend at a negative interest rate; potential creditors will simply choose to hold cash, which pays zero nominal interest.
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In the future, financial firms of any type whose failure would pose a systemic risk must accept especially close regulatory scrutiny of their risk-taking.
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As long as we find that the energy impact is only temporary ... my guess is that the effects on the overall economy will be fairly modest.
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In the typical economic recovery, a resurgent housing sector helps fuel reemployment and rising incomes.
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Over the past decade a combination of diverse forces has created a significant increase in the global supply of saving -- a global saving glut.
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The downturn following the collapse of Japan's so-called bubble economy of the 1980s was not as severe as the Great Depression.
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I served seven years as the chair of the Princeton economics department where I had responsibility for major policy decisions, such as whether to serve bagels or doughnuts at the department coffee hour.
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I came home from school one day, and there was a phone call for me. And I picked up the phone. They said, 'This is the Harvard Admissions Department. We'd like to let you know that you're accepted in the freshman class.' And I said, 'Come on, who is this really?`
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Interest rates are used to achieve overall economic stability.
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Inflation is up, driven by energy prices. Underlying core rates remain low, which is encouraging.
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The risk that the economy has entered a substantial downturn appears to have diminished over the past month or so.
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It's the price of success: people start to think you're omnipotent.
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In any given month, a large number of workers are being hired or are leaving their current jobs, illustrating the dynamism of the U.S. labor market.
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The Federal Reserve will not monetize the debt.
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The movement toward a holistic approach to community development has been long in the making, but the housing crisis has motivated further progress.
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According to government ethics rules ... it is permissible for a retired (Fed) governor to speak in public about the economy so long as he or she does not divulge confidential information. I have no indication that he has violated that rule.
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If the fiscal cliff occurs, I don't think the Federal Reserve has the tools to offset that event.
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I have spoken about deficits, and I think deficits are important because they address broad economic and financial stability. We need to talk about that.
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Clearly, it's going to affect the Gulf Coast economy quite a bit.
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Rents should begin to decelerate as the demand for owner-occupied housing stabilizes and the supply of rental units increases.