Economics After the Crisis: Reflections on a Return to Madison

I am very grateful to the Economics Student Association for their invitation to return to the University of Wisconsin, Madison campus. I literally have not been back since receiving my degree in 1985, but that is no reflection on my time here. On the contrary, my time in graduate school represents the most important and formative years of my professional life. When I left in 1985, I envisioned pursuing a career in academia, not in central banking, and certainly not as a president of a Federal Reserve Bank. But it was because of the people I met here and what I learned from them that this career path was even a possibility for me. To these economists, some of whom are in the audience, I owe my eternal gratitude. I consider myself fortunate to have been afforded a role in economic policymaking at a U.S. institution that has been at the center of the most critical and contentious economic policy decisions of the last few years. In our time together this afternoon, I would like to share some reflections on the implications of the events of these tumultuous years for the science of economics. But, before I begin, I must note that the views I express are my own and are not necessarily shared by any of my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee.