Research Department

As part of the nation’s central bank, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston promotes price stability and sustainable growth in the nation and the New England region. In support of these functions, Research Department economists provide current economic analysis and policy advice to Federal Reserve decisionmakers. They also conduct innovative research on a wide range of economic, financial, and behavioral topics that aims to improve our understanding of the U.S. and global economies and to encourage better policy outcomes. Through presentations, publications, and advisory activities, they share their research and expertise with policymakers, fellow economists, and the public at large.

Latest Research

Why Did So Many People Make So Many Ex Post Bad Decisions? The Causes of the Foreclosure Crisis
by Christopher L. Foote, Kristopher S. Gerardi, and Paul S. Willen
Public Policy Discussion Paper No. 12-2

Investment in Customer Recognition and Information Exchange
by Oz Shy and Rune Stenbacka
Working Paper No. 12-4

Long-Term Inequality and Mobility
by Katharine Bradbury
Public Policy Brief No. 12-1

When the Tide Goes Out: Unemployment Insurance Trust Funds and the Great Recession, Lessons for and from New England
by Jennifer Weiner
NEPPC Research Report No. 12-1

Research Review
Overview of recent research by economists of the Research Department
Issue Number 16

Valuable Cheap Talk and Equilibrium Selection
by Julian C. Jamison
Working Paper No. 12-3

How Consumers Pay: Adoption and Use of Payments
by Scott Schuh and Joanna Stavins
Working Paper No. 12-2

Evaluating the Impact of Fair Value Accounting on Financial Institutions: Implications for Accounting Standards Setting and Bank Supervision
by Sanders Shaffer
QAU Working Paper 12-1

Effects of Credit Scores on Consumer Payment Choice
by Fumiko Hayashi and Joanna Stavins
Public Policy Discussion Paper No. 12-1

Are American Homeowners Locked into Their Houses? The Impact of Housing Market Conditions on State-to-State Migration
by Alicia Sasser Modestino and Julia Dennett
Working Paper No. 12-1

Inflation Dynamics When Inflation is Near Zero
by Jeffrey C. Fuhrer, Giovanni P. Olivei, and Geoffrey M. B. Tootell
Working Paper No. 11-17

The Great Recession and Bank Lending to Small Businesses
by Judit Montoriol-Garriga and J. Christina Wang
Working Paper No. 11-16

Account-to-Account Electronic Money Transfers: Recent Developments in the United States
by Oz Shy
Public Policy Discussion Paper No. 11-10

Do Borrower Rights Improve Borrower Outcomes? Evidence from the Foreclosure Process
by Kristopher Gerardi, Lauren Lambie‐Hanson, and Paul S. Willen
Public Policy Discussion Paper No. 11-9

Games with Synergistic Preferences
by Julian C. Jamison
Working Paper No. 11-15

Managing Self-Confidence: Theory and Experimental Evidence
by Markus M. Möbius, Muriel Niederle, Paul Niehaus, and Tanya S. Rosenblat
Working Paper No. 11-14

Core Competencies, Matching, and the Structure of Foreign Direct Investment
by Federico J. Díez and Alan C. Spearot
Working Paper No. 11-13

A More Equitable Approach to Cutting State Aid
by Bo Zhao and David Coyne
NEPPC Policy Brief No 11-2

Further Investigations into the Origin of Credit Score Cutoff Rules
by Ryan Bubb and Alex Kaufman
Working Paper No. 11-12

Economic Literacy and Inflation Expectations: Evidence from a Laboratory Experiment
by Mary A. Burke and Michael Manz
Public Policy Discussion Paper No. 11-8

The Role of Expectations in U.S. Inflation Dynamics
by Jeffrey C. Fuhrer
Working Paper No. 11-11

Inflation Expectations and the Evolution of U.S. Inflation
by Jeffrey C. Fuhrer
Public Policy Brief No. 11-4

Trends in U.S. Family Income Mobility, 1969–2006
by Katharine Bradbury
Working Paper No. 11-10

The Great Recession
Video presentation by Chris Foote

Foreclosures, House-Price Changes, and Subprime Mortgages in Massachusetts

U.S. Family Income Mobility and Inequality, 1994 to 2004

Research Department

Latest Research

Research News and Events

About the Research Department

Multimedia