“Acceptance Speech” Frontiers of Knowledge Award 2021 in Economics, Finance and Management

Acceptance speech by Ben S. Bernanke, winner of the 2021 Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Economics, Finance and Management, who was honored alongside Mark Gertler, Nobuhiro Kiyotaki and John Moore for their contributions to understanding how financial market imperfections amplify economic fluctuations and can trigger deep recessions. Their research has helped explain the role of credit, corporate balance sheets and the financial accelerator in transmitting financial crises to the real economy.

Bernanke reflects on the relationship between financial system distress and economic recessions, drawing on his research into the Great Depression. He explains how the deterioration of firms’ and banks’ financial health raises borrowing costs, reduces investment and deepens economic downturns. He also emphasizes the importance of understanding these mechanisms when designing monetary polic

Acceptance speech by Ben S. Bernanke, winner of the 2021 Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Economics, Finance and Management, who was honored alongside Mark Gertler, Nobuhiro Kiyotaki and John Moore for their contributions to understanding how financial market imperfections amplify economic fluctuations and can trigger deep recessions. Their research has helped explain the role of credit, corporate balance sheets and the financial accelerator in transmitting financial crises to the real economy.

Bernanke reflects on the relationship between financial system distress and economic recessions, drawing on his research into the Great Depression. He explains how the deterioration of firms’ and banks’ financial health raises borrowing costs, reduces investment and deepens economic downturns. He also emphasizes the importance of understanding these mechanisms when designing monetary policy responses and recalls the relevance of his research during the 2008 financial crisis, when he served as Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve.