Economist Diane Alexander discusses how policy decisions at the state and federal levels influence health care prices.

You always hear about the unemployment rate and employment growth. But how do we know what a “good” number is? That is, how does the Fed think about where labor markets are relative to their potential in the long-run? Dan Aaronson discusses some key labor measures.

Paul Traub, Senior Business Economist, discusses the U.S. and Michigan economies. As the U.S. economy approaches it potential, Michigan’s economy is beginning to show some signs of slowing. The U.S. Unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in April, its lowest level since April 2000. Light vehicles sales, a strong indication of Michigan’s economic well-being, reached their cyclical peak of 17.5 million units in 2016 and are showing signs of slowing down. At the same time, Michigan’s unemployment rate of 4.7% is up from its cyclical low of 4.4% first reached in April 2017. With the U.S. economy now near its potential, the national unemployment rate below the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU), and inflation approaching the 2.0% Federal Open Market Committee’s (FMOC) target, what might monetary policy hold in store in the coming months.

David Oppedahl, a senior business economist, discussed the latest developments from the May AgLetter, focusing on agricultural credit conditions, cash rents, and farmland values, in the context of current agricultural trends.

For policymakers, community leaders, city leaders, city planners, and business leaders, identifying a peer city can provide much needed context to them when looking to solve problems in their city: What are other cities experiencing? How are other cities approaching the same issues that we have?

It would be great to able to compare data between peer cities. How can I do that? The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago developed the Peer City Identification Tool a data comparison and visualization tool that draws upon 2016 data from the American Community Survey and census records for nearly one thousand cities. It identifies groups of similar cities along economic, demographic, social, and housing dimensions.

An overview on the benefits and challenges blockchain offers to the financial services industry, tech firms, commercial vendors, and consumers.

Discussed agriculture credit conditions and land values as well as current agricultural trends from the February edition of the Chicago Fed’s AgLetter.

Discussed the North American Free Trade Agreement.

An overview of how to use the Peer City Identification Tool.

Discussed the nature of U.S. farming, especially in the Midwest, and how it has changed over time. The genesis of the current agricultural downturn was examined in the context of the strong period for farm incomes that preceded the downturn. There was a focus on material from the Chicago Fed’s quarterly survey of farmland values and credit conditions (survey results are published in the AgLetter).