However, the experience of the recent financial crisis – which has been accompanied by sharp declines in global economic activity and increasing unemployment in advanced economies – is a vivid reminder that there are boom/bust cycles which have the potential to trigger systemic crises and thus constitute a serious threat to world economic growth.
The Federal Reserve also has a keen interest in encouraging and measuring the effectiveness of financial literacy programs. Last year, for example, we hosted a forum at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington on credit education that focused on identifying the most effective tools and techniques.