Search Results
Journal Article
Unbalanced growth and the U.S. productivity slowdown
An explanation of the slower trend rate of U.S. productivity growth in the past two decades as a natural response to unbalanced growth, whereby resources are shifted from sectors with high productivity growth rates to those with lower rates, such as the rapidly expanding service sector.
Journal Article
The sectoral and regional effects of oil shocks: who's over a barrel?
An examination of how higher-priced oil affects various regions and business sectors, citing evidence that the oil shock accompanying Iraq's invasion of Kuwait will have a smaller impact on the overall U.S. economy than that of previous shocks.
Journal Article
A reexamination of the relationship between capacity utilization and inflation
A review of the theoretical and empirical relationship between capacity utilization and inflation, employing a two-equation structural model that does not suffer from simultaneity bias and that appears to be stable over time.
Journal Article
Productivity gains: how permanent?
This Economic Commentary confirms that productivity growth has been unusually robust over the last few years and explores reasonable assumptions about the likely future pattern of productivity growth. These assumptions can generate substantially different productivity growth paths. Government forecasts, which guide the major tax and benefit programs, have been increased in recent years yet remain cautious.
Journal Article
Optimal use of scale economies in the Federal Reserve’s currency infrastructure
Could the Federal Reserve lower its overall currency processing costs by reallocating its high-speed currency sorting volume? Given estimates of currency shipping costs and scale economies for high-speed sorting, the authors? model minimizes costs by optimal distribution of sorting volumes across possible processing sites, while maintaining levels of service to depository institutions. Their key findings are that most of the potential savings can be achieved without closing any existing processing sites and that locating a new site in Phoenix would help lower System processing costs.
Journal Article
Estimates of scale and cost efficiency for Federal Reserve currency operations
Meeting the currency demands of depository institutions, businesses, and consumers costs the Federal Reserve more than half a billion dollars each year, yet, very little research has been devoted to understanding what factors affect such costs. The authors estimate a cost function in order to obtain estimates of scale and cost efficiency for this service. They find that as in other paper-based technologies, such as checks, scale economies are achieved at a relatively low level of output, implying that currency services are not a natural monopoly. They also provide estimates of ...
Working Paper
Optimal employment of scale economies in the Federal Reserve's currency infrastructure
Given estimates of shipping costs and scale economies for high-speed currency sorting, the authors investigate whether the Federal Reserve might lower its costs by reallocating the volume of sorting among its processing sites.
Journal Article
Scale economies and technological change in Federal Reserve ACH payment processing
An analysis of the contribution of scale economies, technological change, and falling input prices to the absolute reduction in the real processing costs of an ACH transfer over the 1979-94 period.
Journal Article
Airline deregulation: boon or bust?
An examination of the benefits and problems that have resulted from deregulation of the airline industry, with recommendations for public policy changes to preserve the benefits and to mitigate the problems.
