Source: www.uscsi.org
Topic: China's Economic
Sort Desciption: The Dog That Does Not Bark but Packs a Big Bite: Services in the U.S. Economy China’s Economic Growth
Content Inside:
The Dog That Does Not Bark
but Packs a Big Bite:
Services in the U.S. Economy
Remarks before the U.S.-China Business Council, the Coalition of Service
Industries and the American Council of Life Insurers
Richard W. Fisher
President and CEO
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Washington, D.C.
May 14, 2007
The views expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the Federal Reserve System.
The Dog That Does Not Bark but Packs a Big Bite:
Services in the U.S. Economy
Richard W. Fisher
Peter Ustinov, the great actor, used to chide the British foreign service by saying he was
"convinced there is a small room in the attic of the Foreign Office where future diplomats are
taught to stammer." We do not stammer at the Fed, but we have been known to mumble on
occasion. In most central banks, there has traditionally been a premium paid for being opaque.
Alas, obscurity is not our privilege in the reality show that is todays financial world.
The conduct of monetary policy is inherently a forward-looking exercise: The Fed sets policy
with the goal of holding future inflation at a reasonable minimum while helping economic
activity and employment grow at maximum sustainable rates. To do so, the Fed must consider
both current and expected inflation and growth. A certain degree of transparency and clarity
helps increasingly sophisticated business and financial market operators manage risk. Mindful
that our actions and deeds condition the expectations of risk takers, it makes sense for central
bankers to provide context for our decisions.
This evening, I would like to give you a little perspective from my perch at the Dallas Fed. I
would like to talk, hopefully with nary a mumble nor stammer, about the service sector and what
I consider the consequences of having services, rather than manufacturing, as the driving force of
our economy. These views are my own and, I hasten to add, do not necessarily ...
