In New York State, where economic growth has been sluggish for much of the last decade, the rural economy has done relatively well. The population and labor force in rural areas are expanding, and the number of jobs growing. We take a look at this robust rural economy, examining population and...

The Buffalo Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Center for Governmental Research (CGR) surveyed small businesses in western and central New York State. The object of the survey was to identify what small business owners perceive to be the chief barriers to the growth of their...

We consider why broad-based economies have some advantages over their more specialized counterparts. We show that diversity can be a spur to productivity and innovation, and that firms in a region with many types of businesses will enjoy easy access to the resources and services needed for...

The June 6 conference "Manufacturing Matters" was sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Buffalo Branch in conjunction with the Western New York Technology Development Center and the Buffalo Niagara Partnership's Manufacturers Council.

We examine the foreclosure rate in the U.S. economy and outline factors that may be contributing to its rise. We also investigate the behavior of foreclosure rates in New York State and six of its major metropolitan areas. Particular attention is given to Buffalo, where foreclosures increased...

The United States is in the midst of a powerful demographic trend: the aging of its population. Advances in medical technology and lifestyle changes have lengthened life expectancies while birth rates have declined. Moreover, the elderly share of the population will rise quickly once the 76...

The May 1 conferences titled "The untapped urban market: attracting business to the inner city," and presented by the Buffalo Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in partnership with the University at Buffalo Department of Planning, discussed the economic challenges faced by inner-city...

We assess the prominence of the IT industry in New York State. We calculate the concentration of IT industry jobs in the state relative to the nation and identify the IT businesses that figure most importantly in new York's large metropolitan areas.

This article seeks to explain why industry clusters are receiving so much attention. It discusses how and why clusters form, what makes them successful, and why they are believed to contribute to regional economic growth. The article also examines what the evidence on industry clusters suggests...

Employment growth in 1999 for the Buffalo metropolitan area was the strongest in a decade. Buffalo's job growth rate of 1.6 percent was still less than that of the U.S., upstate, and New York State as a whole. In a second section on the cost of rail shipping in Western New York, we present data...