“Our findings indicate that flood mapping is associated with higher borrower income in regions that are designated a special flood hazard zone. This is likely a mechanical response to the necessity of paying for relatively expensive insurance. However, we also find that applicant income in neighboring regions is lower than in mapped regions, despite these…

“If firms can issue debt only at discrete dates, debt maturity is an effective device against the commitment problem on debt and investment policies. With shorter maturities, debt dynamics are less persistent and more valuable because upward leverage adjustments are faster and long-run leverage lower. Debt maturities that are relatively shorter than asset maturities increase…

Overall Economic Activity “Overall economic activity was little changed in recent weeks. Nine Districts reported either no change or only a slight change in activity this period while three indicated modest growth. Expectations for future growth were mostly unchanged as well; however, two Districts saw outlooks deteriorate. Consumer spending was generally seen as flat to…

“Although food inflation has eased in recent months, it remains persistently high. Labor-intensive processed food items have accounted for the bulk of recent increases in grocery prices, and tight labor market conditions have put upward pressure on wages and contributed to higher food production costs. If household budgets tighten and demand for food at restaurants…

“GDP measures the value of the final goods and services produced within a country. That is, GDP is the sum of consumption, investment, government spending and net exports.” “Although GDP and its changes are the most popular indicators of a nation’s overall economic output, economists have long recognized that it is an imperfect measure of overall economic well-being. For…

“Using an occupational probability of computerization, we measure a firm’s ability to replace labor with automated capital. Our evidence suggests that the potential to automate a workforce enhances operating flexibility, allowing firms to hold less precautionary cash. To provide evidence for this mechanism, we exploit the 2011–2012 Thailand hard drive crisis as an exogenous shock…

“The pandemic era increased the percent of renters behind on rent but did not substantially change the composition of those behind across a variety of characteristics such as education and income. Renters behind only in 2021 were broadly similar to those also behind in both 2019 and 2021 across a range of characteristics correlated with…

“Our preliminary findings suggest that, across industries, the decline in job openings may be more related to hiring challenges rather than quit rates. Industries that have had to fight harder to hire workers may see more resilience in labor demand and a slower decline in job openings as the labor market cools. But industries experiencing…

“In January 2012, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) adopted a 2% inflation target. The inflation target they chose was based on the percentage change in the all-items (headline) personal consumption expendi­tures price index (PCEPI). The FOMC noted that deviations from the 2% target rate were likely in response to economic and financial developments, but…