Mark Carney: Opening remarks at the econoME launch event

Opening remarks by Mr Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England and Chairman of the Financial Stability Board, at the econoME launch event, London, 27 April 2018.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Central bank speech  | 
14 May 2018

Welcome

Good afternoon and welcome to the Bank of England.

We are here today to discuss the value of an economics education and to launch formally the Bank's new education outreach initiatives, in particular the teaching materials we have cleverly dubbed "econoME".

We think economics education is important for three reasons:

  1. It helps young people understand the world around them and equips them with the skills to make important financial decisions throughout their lives;
  2. It demystifies the Bank of England's role, helping make what we do more effective while also holding us to account; and
  3. It can inspire more young people into careers in economics, finance and business, improving diversity in these fields while fostering more sustainable growth for all.

The demand for improving economics education is there - over three quarters of the public believe that economics should be taught in schools. The supply isn't. Only a third of schools offer children the option to study economics from the age of 14.