Speaking of the Economy

Santiago Pinto provides preliminary evidence of learning losses among K-12 students during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also discusses the causes, distribution and consequences of these losses. Pinto is a senior economist and policy advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2023/speaking_2023_10_11_...

Sonya Waddell and Chen Yeh provide an update on credit market conditions, based on recent results of the CFO Survey and other surveys of borrowers and lenders. They also discuss the macroeconomic forces that shape the supply and demand sides of the market, including the current round of monetary policy tightening. Waddell is a vice president and economist and Yeh is an economist at the Federal Res...

Stephanie Norris explains the concept of social capital, its value in the economic development of communities and the challenges of measuring it. Norris is a senior research analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2023/speaking_2023_09_20_social_capital

Marina Azzimonti and Arantxa Jarque, director and associate director of the Center for Advancing Women in Economics, discuss the Center's recent launch at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and the need for such an organization within the economics profession. Azzimonti is a senior economist and research advisor and Jarque is a senior policy economist at the Richmond Fed. Full transcript and rel...

Borys Grochulski and John O'Trakoun share the latest data on the market for office buildings and commercial real estate in general. They also discuss the current state of lending to office developers and whether the rise in office vacancies poses risks to the broader economy. Grochulski is a senior economist and O'Trakoun is a senior policy economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Full t...

John Bailey Jones discusses his recent research on the relationship between marital status and the labor force participation of men. Jones is vice president of microeconomic analysis at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2023/speaking_2023_08_16_marriage_male_labor

Paul Ho talks about how economists model the interactions between monetary policy and the economy and the challenges of determining the economic effects of policy with precision. Ho is an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2023/speaking_2023_08_09_monetary_policy_uncertainty

Nicolas Morales discusses his research on supply chains and the factors that can help them resist and recover from economic shocks, like the COVID-19 pandemic. Morales is an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2023/speaking_2023_07_26_supply_chains

Grey Gordon discusses his research on sovereign debt, the economic consequences of an increase in the cost of that debt, and the implications for the United States in the wake of the recent debt ceiling debate. Gordon is a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2023/speaking_2023_07_1...

On the 100th episode of the podcast, three leaders of the Richmond Fed 's Research department — Kartik Athreya, Huberto Ennis and Ann Macheras — share the research paper that had a major impact on their careers and the economics profession in general. Paper topics range from bank runs to insuring against risks to knowledge spillovers.  Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org...

Andy Bauer, Renee Haltom and Matt Martin share what their business contacts have told them about regional economic conditions in the Fifth District. Bauer, Haltom and Martin are regional executives at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2023/speaking_06_28_23_regional_update

Anita Brown-Graham describes the key components of lasting development in rural communities. She shared these insights in her keynote at the Richmond Fed's Investing in Rural America conference in April 2023. Brown-Graham is a professor of public law and government and director of ncIMPACT at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfe...

Aubrey George, Conner Mulloy and Sean McCrary share their experiences as research associates supporting the economists in the Research department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. George and Mulloy are completing their second year as RAs while McCrary is a Ph. D. student at the University of Pennsylvania. Full transcript and related links: https://richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_ec...

Vanity McDaniel provides an update on FedNow, the first new payments platform launched by the Federal Reserve in 50 years, and why the Fed decided to facilitate real-time or "instant" payments in the financial system. McDaniel is a senior payments business advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Full transcripts and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_econo...

Hugo Hopenhayn discusses his research on the factors that affect the entry and exit of firms in a market, as well as the reallocation of labor and other resources that results from this "creative destruction." Hopenhayn is a professor of economics at UCLA and a long-term consultant at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/spea...

Jeremy Hoffman of the Science Museum of Virginia and Toan Phan at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond share their research on the relationship between redlining and the risks of extreme heat and flooding. They also discuss other ways that the economy intersects with the climate around us and the actions that communities can take to make themselves more resilient in the face of climate change. Ful...

Surekha Carpenter discusses why adequate access to credit is important for individuals and the economy overall, what contributes to gaps in access, and how community development financial institutions have addressed those gaps. Carpenter is a research analyst on the Regional and Community Analysis team at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmond...

Jason Kosakow and Sonya Waddell discuss the expectations of regional and national business leaders about the economy, based on responses to the CFO Survey and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's regional business surveys during the first quarter of 2023. Kosakow is the Richmond Fed's survey director and Waddell is a vice president and economist who oversees the regional and community developmen...

Gadi Barlevy discusses recent research on the potential tension between the Fed's roles in maintaining low, stable prices and providing liquidity when financial markets are in trouble. Barlevy is a senior economist and economic advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He was interviewed on Feb. 8, 2023, before the spate of bank failures that occurred in March 2023. Full transcript and relat...

Santiago Pinto discusses his research on commuting patterns in the Fifth District and how these patterns may help us better understand the economic connections between rural and urban communities. Pinto is a senior economist and policy advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2023/speaking_2023_...

Robert Hetzel reviews the evolution of monetary policymaking through the lens of his new book, The Federal Reserve: A New History . In part two of this two-part discussion, he focuses on the Fed's policies during the Great Inflation and the Great Moderation and after the Great Recession, as well as the role of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond during these periods. Hetzel was a senior economist...

Robert Hetzel looks at the evolution of monetary policymaking through the lens of his new book, The Federal Reserve: A New History . In part one of this two-part conversation, he discusses the Fed's policy shifts in the two decades following the Treasury-Fed Accord of 1951 and the role of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond during that period. Hetzel was a senior economist and research advisor at...

Greta Harris and Jim Tobin offer their perspectives on the housing market, from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and recent increases in mortgage rates to the continuing challenge of building affordable housing. Harris is president and CEO of the Better Housing Coalition and Tobin is executive vice president and chief lobbyist for the National Association of Home Builders. Full transcript and...

Ethan Bullard tells the story of Maggie L. Walker, focusing on her legacy as a bank executive, entrepreneur and activist who fought systemic discrimination against women and blacks. Bullard is curator at the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site in Richmond, Va. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2023/speaking_2023_02_22_maggie_walker

Tom Barkin discusses the state of inflation and the monetary policy response of the Federal Reserve, as well as his outlook on the national economy. Barkin is president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2023/speaking_2023_02_08_barkin_inflation