I am currently writing my PhD defence speech and, while searching for inspiration, I am checking what others wrote at their times of breakthrough. It is somewhat interesting and symbolic what Arthur Burns and Paul Volcker wrote in their Per Jacobsson lectures.

Both lectures celebrated the end of the careers as Federal Reserve governors. Burns speech took place in 1979, while Volcker spoke in 1990. It is also somehow intriguing that Volcker inherited double-digit inflation from Burns. But still, Burns in 1979 titled his lecture: The Anguish of Central Banking, whereas Volcker was talking about: The Triumph of Central Banking.

So what is it going to be in 2012 in my lecture? Probably I am an incurable optimist because I believe in the triumph of central bankers.