Janet L. Yellen’s Speeches

Thank you for that very kind introduction. It’s a pleasure to be here with you in this beautiful “City of Roses.” As a monetary policymaker, my main concern is the national economy, and that will be the chief focus of my remarks today. But as President of the San Francisco Fed, I also pay close attention to developments here in the Twelfth District, which, in many respects, mirror those of the nation. Looking at the big picture elements—growth, employment, and inflation—I’d say things are in reasonably good shape. Over the past two years, the nation’s output growth has been pretty steady, […]

It is a pleasure to take part in this conference. I thank the Bank of Japan for inviting me to share my views on incentive problems in monetary policy committees at central banks. I thought I would organize my remarks around two issues discussed in the paper by Fujiki (2005) and in the sessions—transparency and continuity—and do so in the context of two recent issues confronting the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC): (1) its recent decision to expedite the release of the minutes of its meetings; and (2) its recent discussion regarding the adoption of a numerical definition of price stability. […]

Our discussion today about the effectiveness of stabilization policies has been lively and informative. Importantly, the task of judging how effective stabilization policies are likely to be is complicated by the fact that we live in a changing world. Let me focus on one of the underlying forces for change: increased globalization. Thinking about increased globalization, by the way, is a relatively novel situation for the U.S. to find itself in, but is not so novel for the hosts and many others at this conference. In my opinion, globalization is a net positive for the world economy. Increased flows of goods, […]

Thank you, John, for that kind introduction. I’m delighted to be with you today. As John said, I’m new to the San Francisco Fed. I’m still in my first year as President. But I’m not new to the Federal Reserve System. Nor am I completely new to banking issues. When I was a Governor at the Board some ten years ago, I served on the Committee on Markets and Regulation, where we focused on risk management and systemic risk, including supervising risk-taking at banks. That period—the mid-1990s—was a fascinating time to work on banking issues. With the industry getting back on […]

Good evening, and thanks for the warm welcome. I’m delighted to be here. I plan to give you my thoughts on the prospects for the U.S. economy and the implications for monetary policy. As always, my remarks reflect my own views, and not necessarily those of others in the Federal Reserve. Let me start with a little background. When I set off to Washington a decade ago to become a Fed Governor, a friend gave me William Greider’s The Secrets of the Templeto read. He thought it would be good preparation. As the title of the book suggests, the Fed was not […]

It’s a pleasure to join you today. I was very pleased when John Shoven asked me to share the dais with John Lipsky to give my views on the U.S. economic outlook and the implications for monetary policy. Let me note that, as always, I am speaking for myself and my comments do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other Fed policymakers. I appreciate hearing John’s views on the real side of the economy. In general, I’m in agreement with him. Over the past year, output growth averaged three and three-quarters percent, modestly above trend, which, by most estimates, is around […]

Thanks for that very kind introduction. It’s a pleasure to meet with you today. As Leslie said, I served as a monetary policymaker once before—back in the mid-1990s, when I was a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C. Since then, of course, there have been some important developments and advances in the conduct of monetary policy. One that began while I was at the Board involved communication. The Federal Open Market Committee took some significant steps toward improving the way it conveys its messages to the markets, the press, and the public. An […]

Thanks for that very kind introduction, Dean Mittelstaedt. It’s a pleasure to participate in your forecast luncheon, and I’m delighted to be able to set the stage for the other speakers by giving you my views on the outlook for the nation’s economy and the implications for monetary policy. As Dean Mittelstaedt said, I began my tenure at the San Francisco Fed in June. Just a couple of weeks later, I attended my first meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee as a Reserve Bank President. At that June meeting, the Committee decided to raise the federal funds rate by 25 […]

Good afternoon. I’d like to thank you for inviting me here today to discuss my views on the nation’s economy and on monetary policy. I know that I’m in the midst of a group of professionals who specialize in risk management. Since risk management is a focus of our work at the Fed, we have much in common. Indeed, I understand that some people on the staff of the San Francisco Fed who work in this area are members of the Global Association of Risk Professionals, one of the co-hosts of today’s meeting. One of the Fed’s key roles is to […]

Good afternoon. And thank you, George, for that kind introduction. This is my first public speech as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and it’s a pleasure to be making my debut here in Seattle. Thank you all very much for coming. While it would be a privilege to serve as the head of any Reserve Bank, I’m especially happy to have the chance to head the San Francisco Fed—and not only because the West has been my home for many years. As you probably know, this Reserve District is the largest of the twelve in terms of […]