I think you will agree that the chain of events that began with my decision to go far from home for college and has culminated – so far – with the role I am playing today in U.S. economic policymaking is so unlikely that we could have safely ruled it out of consideration. Nevertheless, of course, it happened.
Although I never could have prepared in advance for the specific events of the past 21 months, I believe that my efforts throughout my life to expand my horizons and to keep a broad perspective – for example, to study and write about economic and financial history, as well as more conventional topics in macroeconomics and monetary economics – have helped me better meet the challenges that have come my way.