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Charging Ahead: Will the Growth of Electric Vehicles Change the Auto Manufacturing Footprint in North America?
The automotive industry has embarked on a major transition from manufacturing gasoline-powered vehicles to producing electric vehicles (EVs). This transition is impacting nearly every aspect of the industry, ranging from vehicle design and development all the way to vehicle fueling and repair. What does the transition to EVs portend for the production footprint of light vehicles (i.e., cars and light trucks) across North America through the end of this decade? In this Chicago Fed Insights article, we summarize our recently published research that addresses this question.
What Can Geolocation Data Tell Us About Childcare Use and Accessibility?
In the U.S., many parents of young children may not have enough childcare providers near them, which may limit not only their childcare access but also their employment opportunities. In this article, we explore how data on people’s visiting patterns to childcare providers might help inform our understanding of the geographic distances between where families live and where providers operate, as well as how these distances and the capacity of providers can affect childcare access. Our research is part of the Chicago Fed’s Spotlight on Childcare and the Labor Market, a targeted effort to ...
Seventh District Midyear Review: Economic Growth Continued to Be Solid in the First Half of 2024
Overall, economic growth was steady during the first half of 2024 in both the nation and the Seventh Federal Reserve District.1 Real gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed some in both, but employment growth was up, especially in the District. Over the last few years, the District has almost always lagged the nation in both real GDP and employment growth, continuing a decade-long trend. Slower growth and slower inflation often go hand in hand, and recent data indicate inflation has indeed been somewhat lower in the Midwest.
Discussion Paper
How Colleges and Universities Can Help Their Local Economies
Policymakers are increasingly viewing colleges and universities as important engines of growth for their local areas. In addition to having direct economic impacts, these institutions help to raise the skills of an area’s workforce (its local “human capital”), and they do this in two ways. First, by educating potential workers, they increase the supply of human capital in a region. Perhaps less obviously, these schools can also raise a region’s demand for human capital by helping local businesses create jobs for skilled workers. In this post, we draw on our recent academic research ...
Introduction to the Cleveland Fed Survey of Regional Conditions and Expectations (SORCE) Indexes
This District Data Brief introduces the Cleveland Fed Survey of Regional Conditions and Expectations (SORCE) indexes, which provide a timely summary of economic conditions in the Fourth Federal Reserve District. The indexes are based on responses to the Cleveland Fed SORCE, a survey of business and community leaders about regional economic conditions.
How Is the Challenge of Finding Childcare Affecting Labor Force Participation? Perspectives from Employers Across the Seventh District
Through the Chicago Fed Survey of Economic Conditions (CFSEC) and during roundtable discussions with business, nonprofit, and government leaders, the Chicago Fed asked employers from a variety of sectors for their perspectives on how childcare access has affected labor force availability.1 These survey and roundtable findings contribute to the Chicago Fed’s Spotlight on Childcare—an effort to increase our understanding of how the lack of access to childcare impedes labor force participation in the Seventh Federal Reserve District. In this article, we summarize the responses from over 100 ...
Newsletter
Residential mobility and neighborhood characteristics in Chicago
Chicago neighborhoods vary widely in economic opportunity and well-being, and trends in population change reflect these disparities. According to census data, the city added about 50,000 residents between 2010 and 2020, but patterns differed considerably by neighborhood type. Some census tracts bore the largest burden of population loss, continuing a multi-decade period of decline, while several others saw rapid growth exceeding 10% per year.
Comparing the Uses of Local Fiscal Recovery Funds in the Seventh District’s Large Cities and Their Counties
In response to the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the U.S. federal government enacted the landmark American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). A key component of the act was providing $350 billion in funding to state and local governments through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program. This program was designed to allow state and local governments to use the money in a fairly flexible manner to reflect how the pandemic had affected their areas’ economies. The only significant restriction was prohibiting these governments from using the funds allocated by the ...
How Do Manufacturers Decide When to Invest in New Equipment?
Although purchasing more and better capital leads to higher productivity, explanations for when and why firms choose to adopt new technology are not straightforward. In this article, we shed some light on how manufacturers choose to adopt new technology by purchasing equipment. The decision can be complicated, so we surveyed manufacturers to get insights into how they approach it. We find that the top two reasons manufacturers invest in new equipment with advanced technology is to keep up with competitors and save on labor costs. But upgrading is not always an obvious choice. Manufacturers ...
Identifying Information Gaps to Help Communities Navigate Lead Service Line Replacement
In response to state and federal policy changes, communities across the United States have been developing strategies to undertake the large-scale and complex process of replacing millions of lead service lines (LSLs). These lead pipes supply drinking water to homes and risk exposing households to lead, which can have long-term repercussions for a child’s development and cause chronic health issues in an adult. The challenge of replacing LSLs is felt acutely in the heart of the Midwest—home to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Seventh District, which comprises all of Iowa and most ...