Economic Synopses

Markups increased noticeably over the past 70 years in the U.S. But what’s behind this increase?

Are richer households driving the boom in post-pandemic consumption? It may be the case in the U.S., as consumption growth is faster in goods and services with higher income elasticity.

Per-person auto loans in the richest 10% of zip codes stayed constant for 2016-24, while in the poorest 10% of zip codes they have climbed steadily since 2011. 

The San Jose and San Francisco areas don’t make the U.S. top 10 in terms of population, and they each contain merely 1% of the national workforce. But jointly they produce about 20% of all innovation output.

Central bank policymakers watch the spread between “repo” rates and the interest rate on reserve balances to gauge financial market stress and guide balance sheet normalization.

What does it take to bring inflation back down to target? Historically, goods inflation slows first, followed by a longer period in which services inflation slows.

How has the share of foreign-born agriculture workers in the Eighth Federal Reserve District changed over the past five years?

Understanding the pace and nature of technological progress is key for evaluating innovation policy and projecting economic growth.

What should you know about the rise of services over the past 40 years? The services sector now accounts for about 79% of output, 85% of employment, 83% of firms, and 78% of household spending.

Calculating the effect of the recent drawdowns from the U.S. SPR is complex and raises the question of what purpose the SPR serves under current conditions. 

Where have different generational cohorts in the US lived throughout their life cycles?

The difference in life expectancy between rich and poor countries has narrowed since 1970, owing in large part to decreases in infant mortality.

The balance sheets of US households have changed over the past seven decades, overall and for different age groups.

The US has decreased its dependence on imports from China, dropping 7.7 percentage points in the share of total imports since 2017. Critical goods in communications and information technology have been most affected.