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Briefing
Intermediation and Bank Liquidity: A Conference Recap
How might a central bank digital currency alter banking system operations? What is the effect of credit easing on the dynamics of bank runs? Does increased competition among banks mean a more fragile banking system, and what can be done about it? These were among the research questions addressed by economists during a recent Richmond Fed research conference.
Briefing
Race and Economic Outcomes: A Conference Recap
How does monetary policy affect racial inequality and minority unemployment? What explains the difference in marriage rates between Black and White Americans? How do racial preferences in college admissions affect who gets in? Do historical discriminatory institutions have effects on current socioeconomic outcomes? These were among the questions addressed by economists during a recent Richmond Fed research conference.
Briefing
Secular Trends in Macroeconomics and Firm Dynamics: A Conference Recap
How does declining population growth affect firm dynamics? Is income growth volatility decreasing in the U.S.? How do changes in housing prices affect young businesses? Have investments in artificial intelligence improved productivity? These were among the questions addressed by economists during a recent Richmond Fed research conference.
Briefing
Networks, Innovation and Productivity: A Conference Recap
How do employment targets affect firm dynamics? What is the relationship between inventor migration, and local productivity and knowledge spillovers? How are surplus gains from inventions distributed? These were among the questions addressed by economists during a recent Richmond Fed research conference.Economists from the Richmond Fed, research universities and other institutions met in Richmond for a conference in May. Researchers presented papers on a variety of topics, including digital advertising, R&D allocation, production networks, and knowledge creation and diffusion.
Briefing
The Center for Advancing Women in Economics: A Conference Recap
Economists from the Richmond Fed, research universities and other institutions met in Richmond for the Center for Advancing Women in Economics (AWE) conference in November. Women researchers presented papers on a variety of topics, including unconventional monetary and fiscal policy, global inflation patterns, worker responses to labor shocks, capital flows and risk, changes in U.S. supply chains, and the dynamics of official lending.The conference concluded with a panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities for academic research to inform policy. AWE Director Marina Azzimonti served ...
Journal Article
Features: South Carolina's Globalized Economy
A great deal of that wealth and growth — not just in Greenville, but across much of South Carolina — is the result of international trade, as these firms and others buy parts and supplies from abroad and sell many of their finished products on the international market. In 2024, for example, South Carolina exported $38 billion in goods, accounting for 11.6 percent of the Palmetto State's GDP. Manufactured products made up nearly all of that total ($37.2 billion). Foreign companies aren't the only active exporters: A total of 6,261 companies in the Palmetto State sent products abroad in ...
Journal Article
Features: Fighting Payments Fraud
For many people, TikTok has become their go-to source for information on everything from fashion to food to home maintenance. Gone are the days of having to figure it out yourself or "Google it"; influencers now post short videos detailing how to perform any number of supposed "life hacks" meant to make life a little easier or, at the very least, more entertaining. In the past year, one more hack joined the list: check fraud. The hack went viral in the fall of 2024, and it was surprisingly easy: Chase Bank customers wrote checks of significant amounts to themselves, deposited those checks ...
Journal Article
Features: Finding New Opportunities for Federal Workers
For 25 years, Michael Rodriguez has worked in international public health, most recently leading a multi-country, $40 million U.S. Agency for International Development funded project to strengthen health care systems in regions plagued by persistent violent conflict, climate disasters, and displaced populations. When the federal government shuttered the agency's operations in February, he found himself furloughed at first and then ultimately let go on March 10.
Journal Article
Federal Reserve: Stablecoins and Financial Stability
Signed into law in July 2025, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act was a huge step forward for the cryptocurrency industry. The bipartisan legislation marked the federal government's first effort at creating a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and signaled that crypto had finally achieved a status and size worthy of the government's attention.
Journal Article
Federal Reserve: Remembering Bob Black and Al Broaddus
The Richmond Fed recently lost two of its former presidents: Robert (Bob) P. Black and John Alfred (Al) Broaddus. Their combined tenure at the Bank spanned 50 years, from 1954 when Black first arrived as a newly minted economist to Broaddus's retirement in 2004. Both leaders guided the Bank through turbulent economic times, from the Great Inflation of the 1970s and 1980s to the Great Moderation and dot-com boom and bust of the 1990s and early 2000s. Before serving as Bank presidents, both men were economists in the Bank's research department and helped shape its model of informing monetary ...