After the events in March 2020, it became clear to U.S. policymakers that the 2014 reform of the money market funds (MMFs) industry had not successfully addressed the stability concerns associated with surges in withdrawals. In December 2021, the SEC proposed a new set of rules governing how...

It is often the case that banks in the US are willing to borrow in the fed funds market (the interbank market for funds) at higher rates than the ones they could obtain by borrowing at the Fed's discount window. This phenomenon is commonly explained as the consequence of the existence of a...

Payment of interest on banks' reserves has long been an important subject of discussion in monetary policy forums. Recent legislation that allows the U.S. Federal Reserve to pay interest on reserves starting in 2011 has made these issues especially timely. By studying a simple model of the...

The existence of a relationship between real growth and inflation has been investigated by economists for more than 200 years. In the decades after World War II, much of the profession came to view this relationship, represented by the Phillips curve, as describing a menu of choices for...

Household debt relative to disposable personal income has risen steadily over the past 50 years. Some have argued that current debt levels are unsustainable and represent a significant threat to the American economy. In fact, the expansion of retail credit appears to have benefited most...

In the 1990s, a wave of merger activity altered the structure of the banking industry at both the national and local levels. While banking remains a relatively unconcentrated industry at the national level, markets for some banking services continue to be primarily local. Concentration looks...

Wage inequality has increased sharply in the United States since the mid-1970s. Some have argued that globalization — in particular, increased international trade and immigration — is primarily responsible for changes in the wage distribution. However, Senior Vice President and Director of...