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Journal Article
Update on the Kansas and Missouri economies : Kansas City Fed’s survey of agricultural credit conditions
The Kansas and Missouri economies improved somewhat during the summer, but the pace of activity was fairly slow. Employment in Missouri remains above year-ago levels. In Kansas, employment growth over the past year was zero after being in negative territory for the last year. Unemployment rates remain elevated, but have continued to fall slightly over the last quarter in both Missouri and Kansas.
Journal Article
Lower Labor Force Participation Rates and Slower Population Growth Pose Challenges for Employers
As the nation recovers from the pandemic-induced recession, finding workers to fill job openings has beena headwind for many regions and industries. Although many researchers have pointed to the sharp declinein labor force participation rates as an explanation, the role of population growth over time has receivedless attention. We examine state and national trends in these measures and show that slower populationgrowth and an aging population may put downward pressure on labor force growth for some time.
Working Paper
Corporate taxes and union wages in the United States
Journal Article
COVID-19 Stuns U.S. and Tenth District Economies, but Both Show Signs of Stabilization
COVID-19 and attempts to slow its spread have led to a decline in economic activity unprecedented in both severity and speed. Although every part of the United States experienced dramatic decreases in activity, states in the Tenth Federal Reserve District, with lower COVID-19 cases as a percentage of the population, have fared slightly better. More recently, national and regional measures of business and consumer activity have improved but remain well below pre-pandemic levels.
Working Paper
Economic Benefits and Social Costs of Legalizing Recreational Marijuana
We analyze the effects of legalizing recreational marijuana on state economic and social outcomes (2000–20) using difference-in-differences estimation robust to staggered timing and heterogeneity of treatment. We find moderate economic gains accompanied by some social costs. Post-legalization, average state income grew by 3 percent, house prices by 6 percent, and population by 2 percent. However, substance use disorders, chronic homelessness, and arrests increased by 17, 35, and 13 percent, respectively. Although some of our estimates are noisy, our findings suggest that the economic ...
Journal Article
COVID-19 Poses Risks for State and Local Public Pensions
If the coronavirus pandemic leads to a protracted recession, public pension funding could weaken further in the years to come. During the 2001 and 2007–09 recessions, investment returns failed to reach pension plans’ longer-term assumed returns, and shortfalls in state and local government budgets led some employers to temporarily reduce contributions. If pension funding falls during the current crisis, state and local governments may choose to adjust plan structures as they did after the Great Recession.
Journal Article
The impact of an aging U.S. population on state tax revenues
As the baby boom generation retires, the nation?s labor force participation rate is expected to decline. And since most people earn less and spend less during retirement, the aging of the U.S. population will likely reduce income and sales tax revenue per capita for state governments. Felix and Watkins draw from data on different age groups? earning and spending patterns to assess how projected changes in the age distribution across the American population are likely to affect earning and spending?and therefore state revenue from income taxes and sales taxes. They find that demographic change ...
Journal Article
The impact of an aging population on state tax revenues
People tend to earn less and spend less when they retire. As the baby boom generation retires, the aging of the U.S. population will likely reduce state governments? revenue per capita from income taxes and sales taxes significantly.