Economic Brief

Reserve-demand estimation is central to monetary policy implementation but tricky in practice. This discusses a proposal that could improve it.

Bank failures are almost always preceded by weak fundamentals. Depositor panics are rarely the root cause.

Three separate models of trend inflation all signaled incipient inflation in 2020, but they currently all offer different assessments.

The digital nature of stablecoins could make them more attractive to foreigners than the underlying fiat currencies that back them.

An updated model suggests that inflation may stay at elevated levels in the near term.

Alternative data sources seem to replicate trends of official data sources, but accuracy can be challenging at higher frequencies.

The current business cycle episode does not fit neatly into historical templates.

Household income and wealth levels play notable roles in how spousal labor supply responds to a drop in family income.

Buy now, pay later usage has continued to increase but is still a relatively small component of the consumer credit landscape.

The government shutdown showed the value of private sector data sources but also the difficulty in interpreting them and reconciling potential differences with official sources.