I cite all this to underline that the Porter Commission made an important difference to our financial landscape. But financial reform, important and topical though it may be, is not the central theme of my lecture. Instead, I will focus on the Commission’s work on the conduct of monetary policy.
First, I will set out a broad characterization of the view of monetary policy in the Porter Report. I have not tried to provide a thorough description of the Commission’s analysis of monetary policy. Rather, I have focused on a few general policy issues that strike me as important. Next, I will present the general approach to policy that is taken today.