After adjusting for inflation, the average income of the top 5% of households grew by 38% from 1989 to 2013. By comparison, the average real income of the other 95% of households grew less than 10%. – Janet Yellen
The extent of and continuing increase in inequality in the United States greatly concern me. – Janet Yellen
One common way of judging whether housing’s price is in line with its fundamental value is to consider the ratio of housing prices to rents. This is analogous to the ratio of prices to dividends for stocks. – Janet Yellen
It is hard to have great confidence in predicting what market reactions to Fed decisions will be. – Janet Yellen
In 1977, when I started my first job at the Federal Reserve Board as a staff economist in the Division of International Finance, it was an article of faith in central banking that secrecy about monetary policy decisions was the best policy: Central banks, as a rule, did not discuss these decisions, let alone their future policy intentions. – Janet Yellen
I would be uncomfortable raising the federal funds rate if readings on wage growth, core consumer prices, and other indicators of underlying inflation pressures were to weaken, if market-based measures of inflation compensation were to fall appreciably further, or if survey-based measures were to begin to decline noticeably. – Janet Yellen
There were a lot of manufacturing jobs lost over a long period of time and particularly after – during the Great Recession. We’ve had some recovery in manufacturing employment as the economy’s recovered. – Janet Yellen
My bottom line is that monetary policy should react to rising prices for houses or other assets only insofar as they affect the central bank’s goal variables – output, employment, and inflation. – Janet Yellen
Financial market participants appear to recognize the FOMC’s data-dependent approach because incoming data surprises typically induce changes in market expectations about the likely future path of policy, resulting in movements in bond yields that act to buffer the economy from shocks. – Janet Yellen
Labor force participation peaked in early 2000, so its decline began well before the Great Recession. A portion of that decline clearly relates to the aging of the baby boom generation. But the pace of decline accelerated with the recession. – Janet Yellen
Individuals out of work for an extended period can become less employable as they lose the specific skills acquired in their previous jobs and also lose the habits needed to hold down any job. – Janet Yellen
In 2006, the Congress had approved plans to allow the Fed, beginning in 2011, to pay interest on banks’ reserve balances. In the fall of 2008, the Congress moved up the effective date of this authority to October 2008. – Janet Yellen
It’s important for the Fed, hard as it is, to attempt to detect asset bubbles while they’re forming. – Janet Yellen
A higher IOER rate encourages banks to raise the interest rates they charge, putting upward pressure on market interest rates regardless of the level of reserves in the banking sector. While adjusting the IOER rate is an effective way to move market interest rates when reserves are plentiful, federal funds have generally traded below this rate. – Janet Yellen
Housing is a relatively small sector of the economy, and its decline should be self-correcting. – Janet Yellen
Monetary policy ultimately must be conducted in a pragmatic manner that relies not on any particular indicator or model but, instead, reflects an ongoing assessment of a wide range of information in the context of our ever-evolving understanding of the economy. – Janet Yellen
Policy makers should be compelled to take action given the serious costs of long-term unemployment when overall unemployment is already high. A week of unemployment is worse when it is experienced as part of a longer spell. – Janet Yellen
As a general principle, the American people would be well served by the active pursuit of effective policies to support longer-run growth in productivity. – Janet Yellen
We necessarily operate in an environment in which there’s a great deal of uncertainty. In such an environment, it makes sense to use a risk-management approach to identify and avoid the big mistakes. That’s one reason I favor a cautious approach. – Janet Yellen
The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy objective is to foster maximum employment and price stability. In this regard, a key challenge is to assess just how far the economy now stands from the attainment of its maximum employment goal. – Janet Yellen
Efforts to promote financial stability through adjustments in interest rates would increase the volatility of inflation and employment. As a result, I believe a macro-prudential approach to supervision and regulation needs to play the primary role. – Janet Yellen
I don’t feel that I’ve faced discrimination. I’ve had every chance to succeed and more, and I think that’s what all women should have. – Janet Yellen
We have put in place policies through supervision and regulation that has greatly enhanced the safety and soundness of the banking system. – Janet Yellen
Productivity growth, however it occurs, has a disruptive side to it. In the short term, most things that contribute to productivity growth are very painful. – Janet Yellen
There is always some chance of recession in any year. But the evidence suggests that expansions don’t die of old age. – Janet Yellen
The pace of increases in labor compensation provides another possible indicator, albeit an imperfect one, of the degree of labor market slack. – Janet Yellen
Nationally, the share of mortgages that are underwater fell by about one-half between 2011 and 2014. – Janet Yellen
Although we work through financial markets, our goal is to help Main Street, not Wall Street. – Janet Yellen
When the time comes to raise rates, I do think there will be some benefits that flow through to savers. – Janet Yellen