Timely Topics

The St. Louis Fed’s Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Charles Gascon, economist and research officer, discuss economic insights from the latest Beige Book release with a focus on the Arkansas region and the Eighth District.

What is a soft landing, and how do we know if one is possible? In this episode, St. Louis Fed Economic Policy Advisor Paulina Restrepo-Echavarría unpacks that question and explains the importance of the Beveridge curve, an economic indicator that represents the relationship between the unemployment rate and the job openings rate. She’ll also discuss how a historic change in job openings prompted her and a colleague from the Dallas Fed to explore how the Beveridge curve could be expanded to analyze whether a soft landing is possible.

The St. Louis Fed's Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Charles Gascon, senior economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region and the Eighth District from the latest Beige Book release.

What patterns emerge when you zoom out and look at more than 80 years of data on income and housing? The answer is both nuanced and surprising. “Many members of these newer generations seem to be starting off their careers in smaller metro areas,” said St. Louis Fed economist Victoria Gregory. “These early in life location patterns are interesting because location choice is usually driven by job opportunities and affordability concerns.” In this podcast, Gregory reveals what did and didn’t change regarding income, home ownership rates and, ultimately, where people decided to live across four different generations.

The St. Louis Fed’s Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Thomas Walstrum, senior business economist at the Chicago Fed, discuss their insights about economic conditions in Arkansas and the Fed’s Seventh District.

How does population decline affect both short- and long-term economic growth? “There is a concern among developed countries that this may have an impact on productivity,” said Juan Sanchez, senior economic policy advisor at the St. Louis Fed. “But there is not a lot of research on that.” In this podcast episode, Sanchez discusses his research about how population decline impacts productivity, a key driver of economic growth.

The St. Louis Fed’s Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Chad Wilkerson, senior vice president and Oklahoma City Branch executive for the Kansas City Fed, discuss their insights on the Arkansas and Oklahoma regional economies.

The St. Louis Fed’s Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Nathan Jefferson, associate economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region from the latest Beige Book release.

The St. Louis Fed's Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Nathan Jefferson, associate economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region from the latest Beige Book release.

Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, is joined by Senior Economist Charles Gascon, who helps compile the qualitative summary of economic activity for the Beige Book. They discuss the anecdotal information that is collected and the way it informs how economists think about the economy.

St. Louis Fed economist Nathan Jefferson discusses highlights from the national Beige Book summary. An overall summary of the 12 district reports is prepared by a designated Federal Reserve Bank on a rotating basis with the St. Louis Fed responsible for this edition. Also, Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, provides highlights and the latest perspectives about the Arkansas economy.

In this Timely Topics podcast episode, Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the St. Louis Fed's Little Rock Branch, and Nathan Jefferson, associate economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region from the latest Beige Book release.

“Although it isn't exactly new, the most alarming recent feature of financial markets may be the inverted yield curve,” says Chris Neely, an economist and vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, explaining that short rates are higher than long rates currently and have been for some time. Neely discusses his research on the yield curve and recession indicators.

In this Timely Topics podcast episode, Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Nathan Jefferson, associate economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region from the July Beige Book.

“Of particular concern is the extent to which wages have kept up with the rising cost of living,” says Victoria Gregory, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, in explaining the distinction between real and nominal wage growth. Gregory discusses her research on inflation and real wages in this podcast episode.

“People’s tendency to learn more information about the economy during crisis and downturns can actually lead to greater uncertainty,” says Yu-Ting Chiang, economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, discussing the effect of macroeconomic uncertainty on information consumption and decision making.

In this Timely Topics podcast episode, Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Nathan Jefferson, associate economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region from the May Beige Book.

“Wealthy households, by investing mostly in their own businesses … compound their wealth at a much higher rate than the rest of the population,” says Serdar Ozkan, a research officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, explaining how the wealthiest people became rich.

In this Timely Topics podcast episode, Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Nathan Jefferson, associate economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region from the April Beige Book.

“The data shows that most of the individuals during the COVID-19 episode—among those who quit—they quit to take another job,” says Serdar Birinci, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Birinci discusses his research on job transitions in this podcast episode.