Ben Bernanke Quotes

The monetary policy committee could either keep rates constant, increase them, or bring them down. There are three options possible compared to when it is accommodative.

There are limits to monetary policy.

Monetary policy and fiscal policy are inseparable.

There is no risk-free path for monetary policy.

Monetary policy should remain data dependent, be well communicated, and ensure that inflation expectations remain anchored.

However, in spite of the general perception that monetary policy should be conducted so as to avert deflation, a central bank cannot lower interest rates below the zero lower bound.

Credit expansion and money printing hasn't filtered much to ordinary people. It's boosted asset markets, real estate and stocks. So well-to-do-people have done very well.

A crucial responsibility of any central bank is to control inflation, the average rate of increase in the prices of a broad group of goods and services.

The Fed is totally open.

Monetary policy itself cannot sensibly be directed at reducing imbalances.

If I am confirmed, I am confident that my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee and I will maintain the focus on long-term price stability as monetary policy's greatest contribution to general economic prosperity and maximum employment.

The phrase 'perception is reality' is overused generally. But perception can be reality in monetary policy. The bond market doesn't act merely on what it sees. It acts on what it expects of the Fed or the government.

Well, I think as long as people are talking about stimulus, I think the Fed will be thinking about cutting rates because monetary policy is the better way to go because you can turn it on and turn it off.

'Inequality' has become the political theme/slogan of our time in both Europe and the U.S., yet political leaders do not even bother to consider that their own policies, which put the entire burden on central bankers to print money and drive up stock, bond and other asset prices, are actually exacerbating income and wealth disparity.

Monetary policy is not a panacea.

We should be humble about our ability to stimulate the economy with monetary policy.

I'm sure Mark Carney is a very clever young man, but I think that the government would be mad to move from inflation targeting to money GDP targeting.

Of course I welcome all the normalization of monetary policy. I think monetary policy should be normal.

As a former economy minister, I can't not think about economic growth. The central bank should also think about this but through its own instruments.

No one thinks of controlling inflation of a continental-sized country by holding back municipal tariffs. Macroeconomic stability cannot be achieved through microeconomic intervention.

The government must do all it can to help reduce interest rates for business.

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

Macroeconomic policy can never be devoid of politics: it involves fundamental trade-offs and affects different groups differently.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is committed to policies that promote maximum employment and price stability, consistent with our mandate from Congress.

The president has very little effect on the economy. If you want to put blame or credit, the main person who influences the business cycle is the head of the Federal Reserve Bank.