Search Results
Journal Article
The Effect of Winter Weather on U.S. Economic Activity
The authors? findings support the view that weather has a significant, but short-lived, effect on economic activity. Except for a few industries, which are affected importantly (such as utilities, construction, hospitality and to a lesser extent retail), the effect is not very big, so that even the fairly bad weather during the 2013?14 winter cannot account entirely for the weak economy during that period. Other factors must have been at play.
Journal Article
Land of Opportunity: Economic Mobility in the United States
Authors Jessie Romero and Kartik Athreya interpret data that suggest economic mobility has decreased in recent years. Many factors contribute to mobility, but for most people advancement depends on opportunities to obtain human capital---opportunities that are not as good for children in poor families. Initiatives that focus on early childhood education seem to yield high returns on investment. Their feasibility on a large scale is unknown, but they may have the potential to help the United States achieve a more inclusive prosperity.
Journal Article
Fifty Years of the Survey of Professional Forecasters
Over the past half-century, the Survey of Professional Forecasters has asked?and helped answer?some of the most important questions about our economy.
Newsletter
What is the Economic Impact of the Slowdown in New Business Formation?
Economists have emphasized the importance of ?creative destruction? as an engine of growth. The creative destruction process involves a constant reorganization of the economy as old products, firms, factories, and jobs are replaced by new ones. An important part of this process lies in the opening of new firms or establishments.