Our floating exchange rate allowed us to achieve a decline in real wages without a decline in nominal wages and to hold inflation near our target. Let me give you another example. In recent years, the demand for and the prices of Canadian commodity exports have been rising sharply. This has helped to create an economic boom, and investment flows into Canada have increased.
Let me begin by expressing my appreciation to the American Economic Association (AEA), the National Science Foundation and the other organizations and institutions sponsoring this conference, which for nearly 20 years has focused attention on the benefits of diversity and the need for continued progress in ensuring that the best and the brightest have the opportunity to advance and contribute to the field of economics.