We decided to pay tribute to the leading economists who have made a signal contribution to the discipline. Each one of you, honoured Guests, is seated at a table named after a famous economist. As coincidence will have it, this Annual Dinner comes almost on the eve of the last Monetary Policy Committee Meeting for this year when you can expect some significant developments.
The general view appears to be that the costs of macroeconomic volatility - in variables such as the exchange rate and inflation - are likely to outweigh any benefits. The article  4  BIS Review 6/2005  notes that the maintenance of price stability appears to be the main contribution that monetary policy makes to growth.