| The Research Division's goal is to promote
quality economic research and contribute to economic policy discussions
while expanding the frontier of economic knowledge around the globe
in the areas of money and banking, macroeconomics, and international
and regional economics. |
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| ALFRED® is a collection of vintage
versions of U.S. economic data. Economic data for past observation periods are often revised as more accurate
estimates become available. As a result, previous vintages of data can be superseded and may no longer be
available. ALFRED makes it possible to gather data as reported by a source on past dates in history. |
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| CASSIDI® provides nationwide data
on banking market structures and definitions, as well as banking markets for individual depository institutions; users
can perform "what if" (pro forma) analyses to see how potential mergers or acquisitions could affect market
structures and competition. |
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| In January 2005, the Research Division
of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis established its Center
for Regional Economics - 8th District (CRE8®). The role
of CRE8® is to provide and facilitate rigorous economic analysis
of policy issues affecting local, state, and regional economies -
particularly those in the 8th Federal Reserve District. |
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| FRASER®
is the newest project to expand our mission of providing economic
information and data to researchers interested in the U.S. economy.
On this web site you will find links to scanned images (in Adobe®
Acrobat® PDF format) of historical economic statistical publications,
releases, and documents. |
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| GeoFRED™ is our data-mapping tool, which displays
color-coded data on the state, MSA, and county levels. For example, GeoFRED can display unemployment, labor force, and population
for all U.S. counties. Users can select among 12,000 FRED® data series and customize these printable
maps according to size, scope, and detail. |
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| Liber8™ is a
portal that links to economic information from the Federal Reserve System, government agencies,
and international data sources. Liber8 was designed with university reference and
government documents librarians, college and high school students, and teachers in mind. |
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1. Users can now create multiple maps with the same data for all available years/months/quarters. For instance, a user can create a pdf of unemployment by state that includes the data for the past ten years. These pdfs open in a new window, in landscape format---which makes better use of space.
2. Users can now download all the data available for the economic indicators in GeoFRED.
3. Users can now define for themselves the class intervals (that is, the data ranges) to suit their needs.
4. Search Locations and Zoom to State are now part of the same link at the top of the page.
5. Users now have the ability to save a map to their personal account, as in FRED.
(2008-10-03)
Go to GeoFRED
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The latest issue of Regional Economic Development, which includes
current research from St. Louis Fed economists, is now online. (2008-10-01)
More....
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Ted Balbach (1927-2007) was a former director of research at the St. Louis Fed. Our memorial tribute to him contains comments, testimonials, and memories from his friends and colleagues. We hope you will enjoy reading them and find them a fitting way to remember Ted. (2008-09-02) More...
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U.S. Financial Data, October 3 Issue
A weekly publication that includes charts and tables relating to weekly monetary and reserve aggregates, selected interest rates, commercial bank loans, and more.
(2008-10-02) More USFD ...
National Economic Trends, October Issue
A monthly publication that presents a snapshot of the U.S. economy. The cover article is "Some Incomes Are Less Average than Others" (PDF) by Silvio Contessi and Ariel Weinberger.
(2008-10-01) More NET ...
Monetary Trends, October Issue
A monthly publication that reviews U.S. monetary and financial conditions with an emphasis on various measures of the monetary policy stance. The cover article is "Another Conundrum?" (PDF) by Kevin L. Kliesen.
(2008-09-16) More MT ...
International Economic Trends, August Issue
A quarterly publication that includes economic statistics and charts for G-7 and euro area countries. The cover article is "Why Do Chinese Households Save So Much?" (PDF) by Luke M. Shimek and Yi Wen.
(2008-07-30) More IET ...
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"Monetary Economic Research at the St. Louis Fed During Ted Balbach’s Tenure as Research Director"
by Michael D. Bordo and Anna J. Schwartz
Ted Balbach served as research director at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis from 1975 to 1992. This paper lauds his contributions during that time, including the expanded influence of the Review, enhanced databases and data publications, and a visiting scholar program that attracted leading economists from around the world. Balbach is remembered fondly as a visionary leader and gracious mentor.
"Oil and the U.S. Macroeconomy: An Update and a Simple Forecasting Exercise"
by Kevin L. Kliesen
Some analysts and economists recently warned that the U.S. economy faces a much higher risk of recession should the price of oil rise to one hundred dollars per barrel or more. In February 2008, spot crude oil prices closed above one hundred dollars per barrel for the first time ever, and since then they have climbed even higher. Meanwhile, according to some surveys of economists, it is highly probable that a recession began in the United States in late 2007 or early 2008. Although the findings in this paper are consistent with the view that the U.S. economy has become much less sensitive to large changes in oil prices, a simple forecasting exercise using Hamilton’s model augmented with the first principal component of 85 macroeconomic variables reveals that a permanent increase in the price of crude oil to one hundred and fifty dollars per barrel by the end of 2008 could have a significant negative effect on the growth rate of real gross domestic product in the short run. Moreover, the model also predicts that such an increase in oil prices would produce much higher overall and core inflation rates in 2009 than most policymakers expect.
"Banking Crisis Solutions Old and New"
by Alistair Milne and Geoffrey E. Wood
In 2007 Britain experienced its first run on a bank of any macroeconomic significance since 1866. This was not dealt with by the method that had maintained banking stability for so long: letting the bank fail but supplying abundant liquidity to the markets to prevent contagion. In this paper the authors examine why that traditional solution was not used and propose changes to Britain’s deposit insurance system, to its bank insolvency regime, and in arrangements to allow customers access to banking services should their bank be closed—so that the traditional approach can once more be used to mitigate moral hazard.
"The Credit Crunch of 2007-2008: A Discussion of the Background, Market Reactions, and Policy Responses"
by Paul Mizen
This paper discusses the events surrounding the 2007-08 credit crunch. It highlights the period of exceptional macrostability, the global savings glut, and financial innovation in mortgage-backed securities as the precursors to the crisis. The credit crunch itself occurred when house prices fell and subprime mortgage defaults increased. These events caused investors to reappraise the risks of high-yielding securities, bank failures, and sharp increases in the spreads on funds in interbank markets. The paper evaluates the actions of the authorities that provided liquidity to the markets and failing banks and indicates areas where improvements could be made. Similarly, it examines the regulation and supervision during this time and argues the need for changes to avoid future crises.
More Review Articles ...
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CPI Graph - Latest Revisions