Online Resources and Recommended Reading

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors 

• Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy
• FOMC Policy Normalization Principles and Plans (September 17, 2014) 
• Select “Videos” on the home page and then click the “Education” tab or search for College Fed Challenge Finals videos to view competition presentations from 2010-2013.
• News and Events (speeches, testimonies, press releases)
• Monetary Policy (FOMC Statements, Meeting Minutes, Policy Normalization, Balance Sheet, Transcripts)
• Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District (Beige Book)
• Semiannual Monetary Policy Report

The Federal Reserve System Online

The Federal Reserve: Purposes and Functions, Tenth Edition
Official handbook on the Fed's structure and functions. Chapters 2 & 3 cover monetary policy.

The Federal Reserve Today
A detailed explanation of the functions, objectives, and organization of the Federal Reserve System.

COVID-19 Resources
The Richmond Fed is monitoring the spread of COVID-19 and its impact on the people in the region we serve. We are continuously seeking ways to offer our support, including these resources.

Richmond Fed Economic Brief
Web-exclusive essays on current economic issues and trends that are based on staff economists' ongoing research and published work. Sign up to receive email updates about this and other publications. The following Economic Briefs might be of particular interest:

• "Monetary Policy across Space and Time." Economic Brief. August 2019, No. 19-08.
• "Are Markets Becoming Less Competitive?" Economic Brief. June 2019, No. 19-06.
• "Moving Macroeconomic Analysis beyond Business Cycles." Economic Brief. April 2019, No. 19-04.
• "Have Yield Curve Inversions Become More Likely?" Economic Brief. December 2018, No. 18-12.
• “How Likely is a Return to the Zero Lower Bound?” Economic Brief. September 2018, No. 18-09.
• “The Impact of Higher Temperatures on Economic Growth.” Economic Brief. August 2018, No. 18-08.
• “Estimating Aggregate Fiscal Multipliers from Local Data.” Economic Brief. May 2018. No. 18-05.
• “The Roots of ‘Bubbly’ Recessions.” Economic Brief. April 2018, No. 18-04
• “Should We Worry about Trade Imbalances?” Economic Brief. October 2017, No. 17-10.
• “Does the Fed Have a Financial Stability Mandate?” Economic Brief. June 2017, No. 17-06.
• “Are the Effects of Monetary Policy Asymmetric?” Economic Brief. March 2017, No. 17-03.
• “The Role of Central Bank Lending in the Conduct of Monetary Policy,” Economic Brief. December 2016, No. 16-12.
• “How Did Short-Term Market Rates React to Liftoff?” Economic Brief. September 2016, No. 16-09.
• “A 'New Normal'? The Prospects for Long-Run Growth in the United States,” Economic Brief. July 2016, No. 16-07.
• “Calculating the Natural Rate of Interest: A Comparison of Two Alternative Approaches” Economic Brief. October 2015, No. 15-10.
• “Inflation Targeting: Could Bad Luck Explain Persistent One-Sided Misses?” Economic Brief. September 2015, No. 15-09.
• “A Citizen’s Guide to Unconventional Monetary Policy,” Economic Brief. December 2012, No. 12-12.
• “The Effect of Interest on Reserves on Monetary Policy,” Economic Brief. December 2009, No. 09-12.

Econ Focus
The Richmond Fed’s quarterly economics magazine. It covers economic issues affecting the Fed, the Fifth Federal Reserve District, and the nation in a way that’s accessible to all readers. Each issue includes current topics being discussed at the Fed that you might not find in textbooks. Sign up to receive email updates about this and other publications. The following Econ Focus articles might be of particular interest:

• "Dealing with Monetary Policy Spillovers" Econ Focus, First Quarter 2019.
• "Jargon Alert: Econ Focus." Econ Focus, First Quarter 2019.
• "Jargon Alert: Fiscal Multiplier." Econ Focus, Fourth Quarter 2018.
• "Does the Fed Need Room to Cut?" Econ Focus, Fourth Quarter 2018.
• "What Have We Learned since the Financial Crisis?" Econ Focus, Third Quarter 2018.
• “How market concentration might affect Fed policy,” Econ Focus, First Quarter 2018.
• “What’s behind low inflation?” Econ Focus, Third Quarter 2017.
• “Jargon Alert: Yield Curve,” Econ Focus, Third Quarter 2017.
• “Why has wage growth been slow despite a strong economic recovery?” Econ Focus, First Quarter 2016.
• “Jargon Alert: Helicopter Money,” Econ Focus, Second Quarter 2016.
• “Who’s the Boss in Monetary Policy?” Econ Focus, Second Quarter 2016.
• “Will America Get a Raise?” Econ Focus, First Quarter 2016.
• “Subzero Interest,” Econ Focus, First Quarter 2016.
• “Jargon Alert: Reverse Repo,” Econ Focus, Third Quarter 2015.

Economic Indicators Calendar
Three-month calendar of economic indicator release dates with links to current releases.

National Economic Indicators
Charts of economic data updated weekly.

Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED)
Over 500,000 economic time series from nearly 100 sources. Download, graph, and track economic data.

Fed In Print
Search tool to locate research articles and working papers written by Fed economists.