Reports

“We construct a news-based historical information load index by considering over 2 million articles printed in The New York Times from January 1, 1885 to December 31, 2018. We use these novel data to study the effects of information load on stock market dynamics.” “Overall, in this paper, we provide supporting evidence on the significant…

“We use Norwegian administrative panel data on wealth and income between 1993 and 2015 to study lifecycle wealth dynamics, focusing on the wealthiest households. On average, the wealthiest start their lives substantially richer than other households in the same cohort, own mostly private equity, earn higher returns, derive most of their income from dividends and…

“We find that many borrowers fail to convert high-interest debt into low-interest debt even when inertia, most information frictions, and fixed costs are eliminated. We focus on borrowers that have already overcome the inertia and information frictions by considering mortgage borrowers that have already chosen to refinance. Furthermore, we show that lowering (or eliminating) the…

“Examining the language of FOMC minutes and transcripts, Cieslak and Vissing-Jorgensen found that the Fed pays significant attention to stock market developments. In addition, they found that “discussions of stock market conditions by the FOMC attendees are most frequently cast in the context of consumption, with the consumption-wealth effect highlighted as one of the main…

“Since 2015, U.S. lawmakers have contemplated increasing the federal minimum wage substantially to $15. Central to any consid­eration of a minimum wage hike are the potential effects on employment; however, these effects can be challenging to measure given the limited historical precedent for large, national minimum wage increases in the United States. International evidence may…

“The modern mortgage in all its variations is the product of a complicated history. Local, state, national, and even international actors all competing for profits have existed alongside an increasingly active federal government that for almost a century has sought to make the benefits of homeownership accessible to more Americans, even through economic collapse and…

“This post presents updated estimates of inflation persistence, following the release of personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price data for January 2023. The estimates are obtained by the Multivariate Core Trend (MCT), a model we introduced on Liberty Street Economics last year.” “The current release of the MCT implies a significant upward revision in estimated inflation persistence. The MCT stands…

“The number of job applications has increased since the 1980s with the information and communications technology revolution, yet job-finding rates remain unchanged. We present empirical evidence for two mechanisms underlying this phenomenon: Increased job applications among all workers heighten competition for offers, lowering a given worker’s likelihood of being offered a job. Also, workers with…

“Banks have responded to consumer, competitive and regulatory pressures to overhaul their overdraft programs, and that trend is expected to continue. Most of the action to date has occurred at very large institutions; the vast majority of the nation’s banks (and credit unions) have yet to make changes. Financial institutions, like other firms, must operate…