Search Results
Journal Article
The “Philly Fed Index” Turns 50 with Steadfast Success
What is so telling about the Philadelphia Fed?s monthly manufacturing index? Explore why financial analysts, economists, and the press monitor it closely for clues about the overall U.S. economy.
Discussion Paper
Where Are Manufacturing Jobs Coming Back?
As we outlined in our previous post, the United States lost close to sixmillion manufacturing jobs between 2000 and 2010 but since then has gained back almost one million. In this post, we take a closer look at the geographic dimension of this modest rebound in manufacturing jobs. While job losses during the 2000s were fairly widespread across the country, manufacturing employment gains since then have been concentrated in particular parts of the country. Indeed, these gains were especially large in ?auto alley??a narrow motor vehicle production corridor stretching from Michigan south to ...
Working Paper
Manufacturing Employment Losses and the Economic Performance of the Industrial Heartland
The industrial Midwest, sometimes referred to disparagingly as the ?Rust Belt,? has long been recognized as a distinct economic region and an important contributor to the US economy. Prior research has emphasized the role that losses in the manufacturing sector have played in the plight of several Midwestern states and cities, particularly in the late 1970s and early 1980s. We identify a hypothetical industrial heartland region consisting of MSAs that have high concentrations of 1969 earnings in manufacturing relative to the US average and that are located within the geography often ...
Texas firms use AI with little employment impact so far
Learning how businesses use artificial intelligence (AI) helps policymakers understand changing economic conditions, particularly involving employment and productivity.
Journal Article
Overwork Impacts on Low-Wage Workers: Insights from the Food Manufacturing Sector in Oregon and Washington
Unstable scheduling refers to such employer practices as last-minute schedule changes, lack of advance notice, requiring employees to be on-call, split shifts, “clopening,” and variable hours and shift times. Evidence has shown that such practices can lead to underwork, or involuntary part-time hours, particularly for service-sector workers. But another, less-explored dimension of unstable scheduling practices—and the focus of this analysis—is overwork. Overwork stems from practices that can limit the ability of workers to get adequate rest and can heighten the bodily and emotional ...
Journal Article
Labor Constraints Remain Greatest Challenge for Resurgent Manufacturing Sector
The near-term outlook for U.S. manufacturing is optimistic amid a resurgence in output and the sector’s overall employment growth during the last decade.
Journal Article
"Producing" Growth
In contrast to the nation as a whole, goods-producing industries have accounted for much of the recent economic growth in Nebraska. Persistent demand growth for food, alongside construction, have been significant drivers of growth, both recently and longer-term. Moreover, a concentration in manufacturing has generally been a source of strength for Nebraska's economy, particularly in rural areas.
Journal Article
Development bank funds border infrastructure to aid U.S.–Mexico trade
Calixto Mateos, former managing director of the North American Development Bank, discusses his work at the NADBank and its role enhancing trade.
Briefing
Measuring Labor Market Power in the U.S. Manufacturing Sector
Policymakers have recently considered several policies to mitigate a perceived increase in employers' market power. However, the lack of direct evidence on labor market power has complicated the policy debate. In this article, we show that the degree of employers' market power is substantial and widespread in the U.S. manufacturing sector. A worker in the average manufacturing plant receives only 65 cents on each dollar generated in the margin. Furthermore, we propose a novel aggregate measure for labor market power. We find that employers' market power decreased between the late 1970s and ...
Discussion Paper
The Dollar’s Imperial Circle
The importance of the U.S. dollar in the context of the international monetary system has been examined and studied extensively. In this post, we argue that the dollar is not only the dominant global currency but also a key variable affecting global economic conditions. We describe the mechanism through which the dollar acts as a procyclical force, generating what we dub the “Dollar’s Imperial Circle,” where swings in the dollar govern global macro developments.