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Journal Article
Making Technical Adjustments: The Difference Between “Conducting” and “Implementing” Monetary Policy
Technical adjustments to the Fed’s administered rates help to implement existing monetary policy in changing market conditions.
Newsletter
Is College Still Worth the High Price? Weighing Costs and Benefits of Investing in Human Capital
Students have several options for life after high school. While college has been a popular choice, college enrollment for recent high school graduates has dropped, and some people are challenging the notion that college is the best route for the majority of students. This article examines whether college is still a good investment.
Newsletter
COVID-19’s Effects on the Economy and the Fed’s Response
The U.S. economy started strong in 2020, but then the COVID-19 pandemic brought about the most abrupt economic slowdown in U.S. history. This Page One Economics describes Federal Reserve actions that stabilized financial markets and bolstered the economy.
Newsletter
Higher gasoline prices: temporary or time to buy a hybrid?
Drivers may wonder whether the most recent spike in gasoline prices is temporary or will be longer lasting. Will prices eventually decline?maybe even to below $3 per gallon? Or is it time for drivers to alter their driving habits, maybe by buying a hybrid car? Be sure to read the September 2012 issue of Page One Economics Newsletter ??Higher Gasoline Prices: Temporary or Time to Buy a Hybrid???for a discussion of factors that might influence that decision.
Newsletter
Making Sense of Unemployment Data
Job growth has been healthy over the past five years. However, many people are still concerned about the overall health of the labor market. This issue of Page One Economics explains what the unemployment rate does?and does not?measure and whether it is a reliable indicator of the health of the labor market.
Newsletter
Wait, is saving good or bad? the Paradox of thrift
The average saving rate for the typical American household before the recession started in 2007 was 2.9 percent; since then it has risen to 5 percent. Uncertainty about the future was the primary driver for the increase. More saving is a good thing, right? Well, some economists argue it might be detrimental to the overall economy. Given the benefits to individuals, how could this be? This month?s Page One explores this ?paradox of thrift.?
Discussion Paper
Closing the Monetary Policy Curriculum Gap: A Primer for Educators Making the Transition to Teaching the Fed's Ample-Reserves Framework
The Federal Reserve (the Fed), the central bank of the United States, has a Congressional mandate to promote maximum employment and price stability. While those goals were articulated in 1977, the approach and tools used to implement those objectives have changed over time.
Newsletter
Automation and the Minimum Wage
This issue explains how a higher mandated minimum wage may lead some firms to substitute capital for labor, likely reducing job opportunities.
Newsletter
Independence, Accountability, and the Federal Reserve System
When Congress created the Federal Reserve System (our central bank), it made it both independent and accountable. The May 2020 issue of Page One Economics describes the necessary balance between these objectives—and why independence matters for sound policymaking.
Newsletter
The Productivity Puzzle
Are many products made in the United States anymore? As it turns out, yes. In fact, U.S. manufacturing output is near its highest level ever?and with fewer workers. How is that possible? Productivity growth. The March 2017 issue of Page One Economics describes what affects productivity, why economists are concerned about its recent slowdown, and what can be done about it.