In many spheres of human endeavor, from science to business to education to economic policy, good decisions depend on good measurement.
Ben BernankeRead
If bankers become overly conservative in response to past lending mistakes - or if examiners force such behavior - it will hurt bankers' own long-term interests and the economy in general.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Caution in banking can lead to negative consequences for both banks and the economy.
In this quote, Ben Bernanke highlights the potential dangers of an overly cautious approach from bankers and examiners in the wake of previous lending mistakes. He argues that while it is important to learn from past errors, excessive conservatism can stifle growth and harm the long-term interests of banks and the wider economy, suggesting a need for balance in financial regulations.
Themes
BankingEconomyConservatismLendingRegulation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a lecture on economic policy to emphasize the need for balanced regulation.
More from Ben Bernanke
All quotes →Education - lifelong education for everyone - from toddlers to workers well advanced in their careers - is indeed an excellent investment for individuals and society as a whole.
Ben BernankeRead
Nobody likes to fail but failure is an essential part of life and of learning. If your uniform isn't dirty, you haven't been in the game.
Ben BernankeRead
Life is amazingly unpredictable; any 22-year-old who thinks they know where they will be in 10 years, much less in 30, is simply lacking imagination.
Ben BernankeRead
The benefit of appointing a hawkish central banker is the increased inflation-fighting credibility that such an appointment brings.
Ben BernankeRead
Economics is a highly sophisticated field of thought that is superb at explaining to policymakers precisely why the choices they made in the past were wrong. About the future, not so much.
Ben BernankeRead
Similar quotes
Economy consists in a due and proper application of the means afforded according to the ability of the employer and the situation chosen; care being taken that the expenditure is prudently conducted.
VitruviusRead
When a business or an individual spends more than it makes, it goes bankrupt. When government does it, it sends you the bill. And when government does it for 40 years, the bill comes in two ways: higher taxes and inflation. Make no mistake about it, inflation is a tax and not by accident.
Ronald ReaganRead
The truth of good economic doctoring is to know the general principles, and to really know the specifics. To understand the context, and also, to understand that an economy may need some tender loving care, not just the so-called hard truths, if it's going to get by.
Jeffrey SachsRead
We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
Winston ChurchillRead
Today, if you look at financial systems around the globe, more than half the population of the world - out of six billion people, more than three billion - do not qualify to take out a loan from a bank. This is a shame.
Muhammad YunusRead
We can no longer prosper by increasing human productivity. The more we try to do, the more poverty we will create.
Paul HawkenRead