Search Results
Working Paper
Urban Transportation and Inter-Jurisdictional Competition
It is well-known that competition for factors of production, including competition for residents, affects the public services provided in the communities. This paper considers the determination of local investment in urban transport systems. Many specialists question the effectiveness of the current U.S. top-to-bottom transportation institutional arrangement in which the federal government plays a dominant role and recommend a shift toward a decentralized organization. We examine how such a shift would affect the levels of transport investment. Specifically, we consider a model of two cities, ...
Journal Article
The Rise and Decline of Petersburg, Va.
Early Virginians looked at Petersburg, with its location on the Appomattox River, as a town of economic vibrancy and promise. Incorporated in 1748 by the Virginia General Assembly, the town fulfilled that early promise and grew to become the commonwealth's third independent city in 1850. But turmoil as well as prosperity for Petersburg were ahead. {{p}} Throughout its 270 years, three factors have dominated Petersburg's economic history: tobacco, trade, and transportation. The city's early economic prominence was due to its tobacco plantations and warehouses as well as various mills powered ...
Briefing
Responding to Urban Decline
In recent decades, a number of once-prominent U.S. cities have experienced economic hardship and significant population loss. Policymakers in those cities want to jump-start growth and improve prospects for the people who live there. But where should they begin? This Economic Brief surveys economic studies on a variety of urban policy interventions and provides lessons for policymakers.
Briefing
Commuting Patterns and Economic Connectivity in the Fifth District
One way of measuring economic connectivity across locations is by examining the commuting behavior of residents. This article explores how connected counties in the Fifth District are by focusing on commuting.
Discussion Paper
How Connected Are Counties in the Fifth District?
Access to expanded employment opportunities and local goods and services is an important factor explaining why certain rural areas are able to retain people and grow. However, this access is far from uniform across rural areas. One way of assessing the economic linkages across areas is by examining intercounty commuting flows. This post classifies rural areas based on commuting flows and uses this information to establish the degree of spatial interactions or connectivity across areas.
Journal Article
Using the Richmond Fed Manufacturing Survey to Gauge National and Regional Economic Conditions
We evaluate the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond (FRBR) manufacturing survey and assess its contribution to explaining national and regional economic conditions. Specifically, we examine the predictive accuracy of a variety of static and dynamic models. The models include the composite diffusion index reported by the FRBR and other information readily available from the FRBR surveys but not currently employed in the calculation of the composite index. The paper concludes, first, that the diffusion indices currently reported perform reasonably well at explaining both the national and the ...
Briefing
Are Place-Based Policies a Boon for Everyone?
Despite the widespread implementation of locally targeted "place-based" interventions, their optimal design and effectiveness in addressing regional economic disparities remains open. Proponents argue that they can leverage powerful agglomeration economies and benefit underserved areas. Critics highlight potential pitfalls like inefficiency, gentrification and negative spillovers. Evaluating their effectiveness is challenging due to policy heterogeneity and data limitations, as existing evidence presents a mixed picture: Some programs seem to contribute to job creation and poverty reduction, ...
Briefing
How Does Trade Policy Get Decided?
The interests of districts play a crucial role in trade policymaking. Districts with heterogenous political and economic preferences form coalitions and bargain in the legislature to reach an acceptable trade policy. Such complicated process has been overlooked in canonical political economy models of trade. Our work brings to focus the role districts play in the political process by proposing a model that aggregates heterogeneous district preferences into a national trade policy. The approach uncovers districts and sectors that are more influential in the political process and identifies ...