This study assesses the degree to which the liberalization of geographic banking restrictions has lived up to its promise of enhancing service accessibility in rural areas. The empirical framework is distinguished by a focus on changes in accessibility, as opposed to levels. While previous...

The effect of oil price shocks on U.S. economic activity seems to have changed since the mid-1990s. A variety of explanations have been offered for the seeming change—including better luck, the reduced energy intensity of the U.S. economy, a more flexible economy, more experience with oil...

This paper analyzes how risk premia—and other factors affecting the comparative advantages of security-funded versus deposit-funded short-run debt—altered the relative use of debt funded by securities markets since the early-1960s and the relative use of commercial paper during the recent...

Remarks Before CERAWeek, Houston, Texas, February 9, 2009. ; "Our senators and congressmen and -women must find a way to give our economic engine an activating short-term jolt without encumbering or disincentivizing the entrepreneurial dynamic that has made for the long-term economic miracle...

Remarks before the U.S.-China Business Council, the Coalition of Service Industries and the American Council of Life Insurers, Washington, D.C., May 14, 2007 ; "The service sector may not be as noisy or get as much analytical or political attention as the manufacturing sector, but it has a...

Remarks before the Society of Business Economists, London, England, March 4, 2008. ; "At present, we simply do not have the ability to adequately account for the impact globalization has on the gearing of our domestic economy. Absent that capacity, we cannot, in my opinion, confidently assume...

Remarks before the 125th Annual Convention of the Texas Bankers Association, San Antonio, Texas, May 15, 2009 ; "The most recent reports indicate that job losses may be slowing; trucking companies--a group often looked to as a leading indicator--report a slight pickup in sales; purchasing...

Remarks before the Ninth Annual R.I.S.E. (Redefining Investment Strategy Education) Forum Dayton, Ohio, March 26, 2009 ; "Here is a take-home quote from Charles Mackay's classic tome "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds", written in 1841: 'Men think in herds...[and] they go...

"Despite the efforts of the Fed, the hope that comes with a new presidency, and what will hopefully be responsible and carefully calibrated fiscal initiatives for the Congress, I believe we have an epic challenge ahead of us. We are navigating the mother of all financial storms. We will...

"Even the perception that the Fed is pursuing a cheap-money strategy to accommodate fiscal burdens, should it take root, is a paramount risk to the long-term welfare of the U.S. economy. The Federal Reserve will never let this happen. It is not an option. Ever. Period." ; Remarks before the...