Journal Article
Regional Spotlight: The State of the States
Flora, Paul R. (2016-10)
The U.S. economy has been expanding for seven years ? but don?t tell that to a handful of states that have suffered recessions recently. Paul R. Flora discusses how Philadelphia Fed indexes may aid in the tricky business of identifying recession patterns among the 50 states.
Economic Insights , Volume 1 , Issue 4 , Pages 8-15

Journal Article
Budget gaps and balanced-budget proposals in Third District states
Flora, Paul R. (2010-06)
Research Rap Special Report , Issue Jun

Journal Article
Regional Spotlight: Labor Market Disparities
Flora, Paul R. (2021-07-06)
The data show that Black workers are overrepresented in the lowest-paying occupations. Paul Flora examines what big business can do to help a region address this inequality.
Economic Insights , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , Pages 18-23

Journal Article
Regional spotlight: regions defined and dissected
Flora, Paul R. (2015-10)
What defines a metro area? Paul Flora describes how population and commuting patterns shape the tristate area's economic regions.
Business Review , Issue Q4 , Pages 5-11

Journal Article
Regional Spotlight: Poverty in Philadelphia, and Beyond
Flora, Paul R. (2021-12-02)
The focus on poverty within the city of Philadelphia misses the bigger picture—and the state’s role.
Regional Spotlight , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , Pages 16-22

Briefing
Why Were Pennsylvania’s Initial UI Claims so High?
Michaels, Ryan; Flora, Paul R. (2020-06-01)
As initial unemployment insurance (UI) claims exploded across the country early in the COVID-19 crisis, one fact stood out: Pennsylvania’s initial UI claims were exceptionally high. For the week ending March 21, Pennsylvania led all states with 378,908 initial UI claims.
Research Brief

Journal Article
Use of rainy day funds in Third District states
Flora, Paul R. (2011-01)
Rainy day fund is the popular name for special reserve funds employed by all but three states (Arkansas, Kansas, and Montana) to provide a more flexible response to emergencies and/or cyclical fiscal extremes. This is the primary policy tool designed specifically to help states address fiscal stresses generated by recessions. By transferring a portion of budget surpluses to their rainy day funds during years of strong economic growth and rising revenues, states can reduce the need to raise taxes and cut services during years of weak growth and declining revenues.
Research Rap Special Report , Issue Jan

Journal Article
Regional Spotlight Measuring State Employment
Flora, Paul R. (2022-11-10)
We introduce our new quarterly Early Benchmarks of monthly state employment estimates.
Economic Insights , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , Pages 28-35

Journal Article
Regional Spotlight: State Business Cycles vs. COVID
Flora, Paul R.; Puenpatom, Tosmai (2023-07-03)
Our state business cycle dating algorithm was no match for COVID-19
Economic Insights , Volume 8 , Issue 8 , Pages 18-24

Journal Article
Regional spotlight: what's holding back homebuilding?
Flora, Paul R. (2015-04)
The construction industry, often the first to resume hiring after an economic downturn, still hasn't recovered from the Great Recession. Paul Flora examines the forces that have held back this sector in our region and around the country.
Business Review , Issue Q2 , Pages 17-21