Seeds of Growth
Sustainable Community Development: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why

A Federal Reserve System Community Affairs Research Conference
Held in Washington, D.C.
March 27-28, 2003

This Web site contains the papers from a conference organized by the Community Affairs Officers of the Federal Reserve System. Papers included in the Web site are to be considered working papers. They are reproduced here to make them available to scholars and practitioners with a serious interest in the topics presented. Many of the papers are in preliminary form and will be submitted for publication elsewhere. The works here should be cited as working papers and considered preliminary drafts of any subsequent publication. Although all papers have been screened for relevance to the subject matter of the conference, they have not been subjected to a rigorous refereeing process nor edited for form or content by the Federal Reserve.

Summary (PDF,245KB)

Opening Remarks (PDF,14KB)
William Poole
President, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Welcoming Address
Michael H. Moskow
President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Keynote Address
Alan Greenspan
Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
Session 4
Session 5
Session 6

Session Six: International and Cultural Dimensions
Credit Availability in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Hmong Community (PDF, 224KB)
Maude Toussaint-Comeau and Robin Newberger, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Jason Schmidt, Art Rolnick, and Ron Feldman, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Minneapolis, MN

Policies Promoting Microenterprises in Colonias: What Works? What Does Not Work? And Why? (PDF,284KB)
Cecilia Giusti, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

Human Capital and the Development of Financial Institutions: Evidence from Thailand (PDF,259KB)
Anna Paulson, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Discussion Comments
International and Cultural Dimensions (PDF,54KB)
Marty Levine, Shorebank Advisory Services, Washington, D.C.