25 Quotes & Sayings By Ben Bernanke

Ben S. Bernanke is the chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He was appointed by President George W. Bush in January 2002, and reappointed by President Barack Obama in January 2007 for a second term that ended on January 31, 2014 Read more

He is a member of the Council of Economic Advisors and serves on the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. His research has focused on how monetary policy affects economic activity, bank risk taking, and financial stability. He co-authored an academic paper entitled "The Great Moderation," which was published in October 1999 in The American Economic Review.

He has also written extensively on the causes and consequences of the housing bubble and subsequent financial crisis, including "The Noise of Markets: Do Financial Markets Deteriorate Predictability?" (2008), "The Quiet Crisis: Understanding the Unexplained Rise in U.S. Government Debt" (2011), and "Why Deficits Don't Matter" (2014).

1
In many spheres of human endeavor, from science to business to education to economic policy, good decisions depend on good measurement. Ben Bernanke
2
Given the extent of the exposures of major banks around the world to A.I.G., and in light of the extreme fragility of the system, there was a significant risk that A.I.G.'s failure could have sparked a global banking panic. Ben Bernanke
3
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. Ben Bernanke
4
The failure of Lehman Brothers demonstrated that liquidity provision by the Federal Reserve would not be sufficient to stop the crisis substantial fiscal resources were necessary. Ben Bernanke
5
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. Ben Bernanke
6
High levels of homeownership have been shown to foster greater involvement in school and civic organizations, higher graduation rates, and greater neighborhood stability. Ben Bernanke
7
No economy can succeed without a high-quality workforce, particularly in an age of globalization and technical change. Ben Bernanke
8
The Fed's independence is critical. Ben Bernanke
9
Community development has a long history of innovation and learning from experience. Ben Bernanke
10
Neighborhoods and communities are complex organisms that will be resilient only if they are healthy along a number of interrelated dimensions, much as a human body cannot be healthy without adequate air, water, rest, and food. Ben Bernanke
11
The lesson of history is that you do not get a sustained economic recovery as long as the financial system is in crisis. Ben Bernanke
12
The more guidance a central bank can provide the public about how policy is likely to evolve the greater the chance that market participants will make appropriate inferences. Ben Bernanke
13
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. Ben Bernanke
14
Economics has many substantive areas of knowledge where there is agreement, but also contains areas of controversy. That's inescapable. Ben Bernanke
15
I am particularly pleased to see that the Bendheim Center for Finance is thriving. Ben Bernanke
16
When the economic well-being of their nation demanded a strong and creative response, my colleagues at the Federal Reserve... mustered the moral courage to do what was necessary. Ben Bernanke
17
Because a person has to be either working or looking for work to be counted as part of the labor force, an increase in the number of people too discouraged to continue their search for work would reduce the unemployment rate, all else being equal - but not for a positive reason. Ben Bernanke
18
Economic engineering is about the design and analysis of frameworks for achieving specific economic objectives. Ben Bernanke
19
As an educator myself, I understand the profound effect that good teachers and a quality education have on the lives of our young people. Ben Bernanke
20
Smart financial planning - such as budgeting, saving for emergencies, and preparing for retirement - can help households enjoy better lives while weathering financial shocks. Financial education can play a key role in getting to these outcomes. Ben Bernanke
21
Because financially capable consumers ultimately contribute to a stable economic and financial system as well as improve their own financial situations, it's clear that the Federal Reserve has a significant stake in financial education. Ben Bernanke
22
If you're in a car crash, you're mostly involved in trying to not go off the bridge, and later on you say, 'Oh my God! ' Ben Bernanke
23
It's the price of success: people start to think you're omnipotent. Ben Bernanke
24
Many foreclosed homes are neglected or abandoned, as legal proceedings or other factors delay their resale. Deteriorating or vacant properties can, in turn, directly affect the quality of life in a neighborhood, for example, by leading to increases in vandalism or crime. Ben Bernanke