From time to time, we use our blog to highlight the work of our partner organizations throughout the Seventh District to address the pandemic's effects. As we consider the pandemic's impact on small businesses, which have borne a great deal of hardship owing to the closings of and limitations placed upon restaurants, bars, and various retail establishments not considered essential, chambers of co... Read More

In 2017, Congress created a new federal income tax incentive intended to encourage long-term business investment in low-income census tracts designated as “opportunity zones.” One policy concern is that these tax incentives may benefit investors without any spillover benefits to existing residents and businesses within opportunity zones. This concern is based, in part, on the absence of a communi... Read More

The Community Development and Policy Studies (CDPS) division recently welcomed the second speaker of the new internal speaker series, Dr. Matthew Epperson. The speaker series garners diverse perspectives from researchers to enhance the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s work in improving socioeconomic prospects for marginalized communities. A key component of uplifting marginalized communities... Read More

Federal bank regulators have issued statements and guidance throughout the Covid-19 pandemic encouraging financial institutions to “meet the financial needs of their customers and members in areas affected by Covid-19.” In the past, regulators have indicated how financial institutions can prudently respond to disasters and national emergencies, and how examiners will view a financial institution'... Read More

Dear Readers: My colleagues and I in the Chicago Fed's Community Development and Policy Studies unit are outraged and deeply saddened by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. It was, of course, only the most recent tragedy of its kind to horrify the nation. And we sadly are reminded that fear of racist confrontations continues to place a burden on black people every day in this country. T... Read More

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago recently convened leaders of small business intermediaries to discuss how Chicago's small businesses are faring during the COVID-19 pandemic and share insights on how their organizations—chambers of commerce, incubators, community development financial institutions, banks, and policymakers—can help businesses in underserved communities. The meeting began with ... Read More

The Federal Reserve has been tracking the impact of COVID-19 on marginalized communities to help inform recent responses to the crisis. Information gleaned from stakeholders through outreach calls focused on the impacts in economically marginalized communities, which, even when the macroeconomy is doing well, experience higher levels of unemployment, housing and food insecurity, and poor public h... Read More

The Community Development and Policy Studies (CDPS) division of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago hosts an internal speaker series to convene scholars of diverse perspectives and academic fields to speak about issues impacting low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities and other vulnerable populations. CDPS hopes that the viewpoints garnered from the various presentations will fortify and enhan... Read More

The Federal Reserve COVID-19 survey is a convenience sample. Since the sample is not selected randomly, the survey may be subject to biases that are not present in randomly-selected samples of firms. The respondents do not reflect the full population of businesses along the dimensions of industry, age, employee size, and geography. A new report from the 12 Federal Reserve banks and the Board o... Read More

Dear Readers: We hope that you are well, and taking all necessary precautions during the pandemic. During these challenging times, I am united with my Fed colleagues in our commitment to the American people and to the job Congress gave us - to promote maximum employment and stable prices, while protecting the stability of the financial system. Many of our actions at the Fed so far are intended... Read More