Speaking of the Economy

Kelly Bowers , economic development director for Hertford County, N.C., discusses the challenges and opportunities facing her community. She highlights the importance of collaboration across state lines and the need for infrastructure such as broadband and affordable housing to support growth. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/speaking_...

Alex Wolman and Robert King reflect on the life and legacy of Marvin Goodfriend . Throughout his career, Goodfriend wrote a number of influential papers on monetary policy and played a key role in the development of the Richmond Fed's Research Department. Wolman is vice president for monetary and macroeconomic research at the Richmond Fed and King is a professor of economics at Boston University....

Host Tim Sablik discusses his recent research on the value of entrepreneurs in the economic growth of rural places and small towns, as well as the obstacles that they face compared to more urban communities. Sablik also talks with Erika Bell and Laura Ullrich about what they have learned from their contacts in North Carolina and South Carolina about rural entrepreneurship. Bell is community develo...

Urvi Neelakantan and Kristen Broady review their research on differences in wealth between races and potential causes behind these differences. They also discuss potential solutions to closing wealth gaps. Neelakantan is a senior policy economist at the Richmond Fed and Broady is a senior economist, economic advisor, and director of the Economic Mobility Project at the Chicago Fed. Full transcript...

Vanity McDaniel and Zhu Wang review the Federal Reserve's important role in the payments system, from cash and check processing to supporting innovations in electronic payments. McDaniel is a senior payments business analyst in the Payments Outreach group and Wang is vice president for research in financial and payments systems in the Research Department at the Richmond Fed. Full transcript and re...

Arantxa Jarque and Daniela Scidá  share the challenges faced by women in the economics profession and the progress that the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has made in addressing them. Jarque is a senior policy economist in the Richmond Fed's Research department and Scida is a financial economist and manager in the Bank's Quantitative Supervision and Research group. Full transcript and related li...

Alexander Wolman provides the basics on how the Fed looks at changes in price levels, reviews the distribution of recent price increases, and discusses their implications for overall inflation. Wolman is vice president for monetary and macroeconomic research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/spea...

Sierra Latham and Peter Dolkart discuss their work on the availability of affordable housing in small towns and rural communities. Latham is a senior research analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and Dolkart is a community development regional manager based in the Richmond Fed's Baltimore office. Full transcript and related links: https://bit.ly/3KM2lcz

Renee Haltom reflects on key insights from a panel discussion at the District Dialogues event on Feb. 8, 2022. Panelists talked about how the nature of work and the skills required of workers have changed, and how workers and employers have responded to those changes. Haltom is a vice president and regional executive at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, and hosted the event. Full transcript an...

For the 50th episode of the podcast, hosts Jessie Romero, Charles Gerena and Tim Sablik use previous episodes to explore how labor markets are shaped by the economic choices we make throughout our lifetimes, from childhood to adulthood to old age. Full transcript and related links: https://bit.ly/3p4rR4j

Tressa Gardner provides an overview of the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology (SiMT), the business incubator and other programs that it operates, and its role in supporting economic development in northeastern South Carolina. Gardner is associate vice president of SiMT. Full transcript and related links: https://bit.ly/3Jv3ZPl

Santiago Pinto and Ray Owens discuss current trends in crime rates, the challenges of determining the extent of crime and its causes, and the impact of policing on crime rates. They also review research on racial bias in policing and the impact of police violence against Black citizens. Pinto and Owens are senior economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Full transcript and related links...

Mary Ann Gilmer of Goodwill Industries of the Valleys discusses the nonprofit's training program for healthcare workers and the importance of this work in rural communities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gilmer is chief strategy and people officer at Goodwill. Full transcript and related links: http://ow.ly/tBx850HF0En

Tom Barkin , president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, discusses the challenges and opportunities facing rural communities and smaller towns, and why the Richmond Fed has been working to address them. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/speaking_2022_01_19_barkin

Mark Bils of the University of Rochester and Niklas Engbom of New York University discuss their research on how easily labor is substituted or shifted between jobs and its implications for policies to bolster human capital. Bils and Engbom presented their most recent work at the Richmond Fed's CORE Week in December 2021. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speak...

John O'Trakoun discusses the factors that have increased the cost of single-family and multi-unit housing in recent months, as well as what shapes overall supply and demand for housing over the longer term. O'Trakoun is a senior policy economist at the Richmond Fed and primary contributor to the Bank's Macro Minute blog.  Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/spea...

Laura Ullrich and Urvi Neelakantan discuss trends in enrollment at community colleges and the role of these educational institutions in the economy. Ullrich is a regional economist based in Charlotte, N.C., and Neelakantan is a senior policy economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/speaking_20...

Andy Bauer , Matt Martin and Renee Haltom reflect on the past year, sharing what they have learned from their contacts about the national and regional economies that they follow. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/speaking_20211208_regionalexecs

Parker Agelasto and Ebonie Alexander discuss how losses in property rights when they're transferred between generations can contribute to the creation and widening of wealth gaps. Agelasto is executive director of the Capital Region Land Conservancy and Alexander is executive director of the Black Family Land Trust. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_o...

Laura Ullrich and Sam Louis Taylor discuss the direct and indirect effects of federal aid to state and local governments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ullrich is a regional economist based at the Charlotte office of the Richmond Fed. Taylor is a policy analyst at the Richmond office. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/speaking_20211118_u...

Daniel Paul Davis and Andrew Dumont discuss an approach to economic development in rural communities that is detailed in a book they have edited, "Investing in Rural Prosperity." Dumont is a senior community development analyst at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Davis is vice president and community affairs officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Full transcript and related links...

Maia Linask and Tatyana Avilova share their career journeys in the field of economics and discuss what motivated them to organize the Diverse Economics Conference this November. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/speaking_20211020_linask_avilova

Felipe Schwartzman and Chen Yeh discuss their research on business cycles and what forces impact them on the individual and aggregate level. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/speaking_20211013_schwartzman_yeh

Angela Wells discussed how Smart Beginnings Danville Pittsylvania prepares children in Southside Virginia for success in school and in life. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/speaking_20211007_wells

Deborah Markley discusses how community foundations support capacity building and development to improve the well being of rural communities. Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/speaking_20210922_markley