## The Class of 2018: A New Odyssey

_IMF News, May 12, 2018_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [The Class of 2018: A New Odyssey](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2018/05/12/sp051218-the-class-of-2018-a-new-odyssey)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2018/05/12/sp051218-the-class-of-2018-a-new-odyssey/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2018/05/12/sp051218-the-class-of-2018-a-new-odyssey/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2018/05/12/sp051218-the-class-of-2018-a-new-odyssey/bundle-manifest.json)

## Bibliographic details
- Published: May 12, 2018

---

### Introduction
- Commencement address by Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director, Claremont, California, May 12, 2018.
- Framing device: borrows the Odyssey and Athena to reflect on ten-year horizons — “Ten years backward, ten years forward.”
- Central challenge posed to graduates: how to use present advantages responsibly to shape the world for future classes (notably the class of 2028).

### Part I: A New Odyssey — framing and call to responsibility
- Uses the Athenas’ “pillars” (focus, passion, resilience) as an organizing metaphor.
- Emphasizes moral responsibility tied to privilege, citing J.K. Rowling: “You have a moral responsibility when you’ve been given far more than you need, to do wise things with it and give intelligently.”
- Core questions for graduates (posed as societal choices to be made now):
  - Who benefits from technological change and who is left behind?
  - Will technology companies be regulated like public utilities?
  - Will privacy and consent be protected in data practices?
  - What will happen to those who lose jobs due to automation?
  - Will excessive inequality continue to fracture society?
  - Will we control carbon emissions and tackle climate change?
  - Will we invest more in human capital than in tangible assets?

### Part II: The Class of 2008 — lessons from the global financial crisis
- Context and IMF action:
  - In May 2008 the global economy was rattled: Bear Stearns had folded and Lehman Brothers was about to go under.
  - The IMF “deployed its firepower,” committing “hundreds of billions of dollars” to secure the global financial system, protect deposits, and kickstart the global economy.
  - Through international cooperation, a global depression was avoided; economies and financial systems were made more resilient.
- Economic and labor-market consequences for graduates:
  - Research indicates students graduating in the US in 2008 and 2009 faced higher unemployment and lower salaries than peers before and after.
  - By 2013, the average college graduate who finished school during the recession earned 36 percent less than peers who graduated a few years earlier.
- Individual and societal adaptation:
  - Examples of career shifts: displaced finance graduates moving to Silicon Valley to build start-ups; others moving into law, public service, education.
  - International students returned home and helped rebuild their economies.
- Overarching lesson: adversity prompted innovation and contributed to rebuilding efforts via international cooperation.

### Part III: The Class of 2028 — projections and challenges ahead
- Technological and social scenarios envisioned by 2028:
  - Ubiquitous robotics (examples: robots that recharge solar batteries), biometric transactions (retinal scans), possible mainstreaming of crypto-currencies, and diminished use of cash.
  - Education transformed by AI and holographic interaction (e.g., digital speaker forums, professors available around the clock via AI), while some enduring challenges persist (e.g., competitive courses like Econ 50).
  - The “fourth industrial revolution” possibly evolving into the “fifth industrial revolution” with stronger roles for services and data.
- Policy and distributional questions highlighted as immediate priorities (addressed to the class of 2018 as current decision-makers):
  - Regulation of large technology firms and treatment akin to public utilities.
  - Data privacy and consent protections.
  - Policies to manage job displacement from automation and to support retraining and human capital investment.
  - Measures to reduce excessive inequality.
  - Climate policy to control carbon emissions.
- Call to action: these questions “cannot wait for the class of 2028” — the current graduates must help find answers today.

### Gender empowerment: persistence of inequalities and policy implications
- Personal testimony and historical context:
  - Christine Lagarde recounts career obstacles in the 1970s and as a young working mother.
- Persistent gender gaps and statistics preserved from the speech:
  - “Today, women in the United States make 80 cents for every dollar a man makes.”
  - “The percentage of women in the workforce in the US has stagnated — it is at the same level it was in the mid-1980s.”
  - “Less than seven percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women.”
  - Noted anecdotal finding: “there are more Fortune 500 CEOs named James than Fortune 500 CEOs who are women.”
- Global legal barriers: millions of women face laws preventing them from working, holding title to property, controlling bank accounts, or traveling independently.
- Policy emphasis: acceleration of gender-equality reforms; mobilizing rising leaders (class of 2018) to address remaining gaps so future graduates benefit.

### Conclusion: resilience, support, and the role of education
- Reiterates the Odyssey metaphor: homecoming brings new challenges but also support (Athena, Eurycleia).
- Core reassurance: education, experience, and community love/friendship provide the confidence to confront future hurdles.
- Final charge: graduates should use their freedoms and privileges to build a better world for subsequent generations — “Thanks to the class of 2018, the world is a better place.”

*Commencement Address by Christine Lagarde, Claremont, May 12, 2018.*

---


## References

- [Christine Lagarde](https://www.imf.org/en/About/senior-officials/Bios/christine-lagarde)
- [France and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/FRA/index.htm)
- [United States and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/USA/index.htm)
- [Speeches](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)
- [PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)
- [World Economic Outlook: Chapter 2 (Washington: April 2018).](http://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2018/03/20/world-economic-outlook-april-2018)
- [https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2018/05/12/sp051218-the-class-of-2018-a-new-odyssey_