National Summit on Economic and Financial Literacy

The first National Summit on Economic and Financial Literacy was held on May 13-14, 2002 at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the National Press Club, Washington, DC, and hosted by the National Council on Economic Education and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

When President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Legislation in January, he challenged us as citizens, economic educators, business leaders and policy makers to create a more economically literate nation. First, the legislation supports the promotion of economic, financial, and consumer education in U.S. schools. Second, it reinforces the development of the first-ever national assessment in Economics for 12th grade students. The desire of the public for economic and financial literacy has never been greater, and may never again be as high.

The first National Summit on Economic and Financial Literacy brought together the best and brightest economic educators, business people and policy makers from diverse backgrounds, with two common goals: to create an economically and financially literate society; and to formulate an action plan to create a national citizenry with the knowledge, understanding, and skills they need to make informed economic choices.

Reports from the Summit

• Executive Summary, National Summit on Economic and Financial Literacy (PDF 1MB)
• Remarks by Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman Roger W. Ferguson, Jr.