Business surveys often give early signals of the direction and magnitude of economic activity. One release, the relatively new Empire State Manufacturing Survey, is demonstrating an ability to provide information ahead of U.S. production and employment trends. In fact, the predictive power of...

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 analyze the restructuring of the manufacturing workforce over the past two decades by investigating how the occupational distribution of workers has changed. We identify important regional differences in the nature and degree of this restructuring, and give particular attention to New York...

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...

We begin with a broad discussion of how tourism has emerged as a force in the U.S. and regional economies. We follow with an examination of the industry's size and growth in upstate New York. We also show that the state's rural economy is generally more dependent on tourism than are its metro...

We analyze patterns of compensating differentials to determine whether a region's bundle of site characteristics has a greater net effect on household location decisions relative to firm location decisions in U.S. metropolitan areas over time. We estimate skill-adjusted wages and...