Is uncertainty causing small business owners to behave in ways that are hindering the recovery? That question is at the center of an intense public debate. Though reasonable arguments have been presented on both sides, there is not much empirical evidence to draw on. To contribute some to the...

Given at the 36th Annual Economic Policy Conference, St. Louis. October 20, 2011.

Presented at the Annual Dealmakers Event, San Diego, California.

Remarks before the Texas A&M Retailing Summit, Dallas, Texas, October 7, 2011 ; "We have filled the gas tanks of the economy with affordable liquidity. What is needed now is for employers to confidently step on the pedal and engage the transmission that will use that fuel to move the great...

Remarks before the Dallas Friday Group, Dallas, Texas, October 21, 2011 ; "Absent some shock, I envision a slow but steady improvement in the economy into 2012. That is, if our fiscal authorities will remove their stranglehold on clarifying fiscal initiatives. If not, then, in my view, I expect...

Remarks for the Annual Joint Luncheon of Commercial Real Estate Women Dallas and North Texas Certified Commercial Investment Members, Dallas, Texas, August 16, 2006 ; "In determining future policy, my colleagues and I will watch and listen and "taste" the indicators carefully as they come in....

Remarks before the Greater Houston Partnership, Houston, Texas, September 1, 2010 ; "If the fiscal and regulatory authorities are able to dispel the angst that they are reportedly causing, further accommodation may not be needed because the liquidity that has been built up on corporate balance...

Remarks at a Community Luncheon hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, San Antonio Branch, Corpus Christi, Texas, June 14, 2006 ; "Against the background of sustained high prices for oil and gasoline and the inevitable propensity of sellers of goods and services to try to pass on cost...

There has been much talk about a disappointing recovery in the wake of the Great Recession—that this time it is much slower. Comparing features of this recovery to past recoveries casts some doubt on that view. The comparison is made using a scaled-down version of the sophisticated and...

The past recession has hit the labor market especially hard, and economists are wondering whether some fundamentals of the market have changed because of that blow. Many are suggesting that the natural rate of long-term unemployment—the level of unemployment an economy can’t go below—has...