The Fed's response to the credit crunch

The Federal Reserve Board has used Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act to create several new lending facilities to address the ongoing strains in the credit market.Financial crises ; Credit

What's under the TARP?

The Financial Stability Plan, initiated under the belief that "[t]here is more risk and greater cost in gradualism than in aggressive action," has several features.Troubled Asset Relief Program

The microfinance revolution: an overview

The Nobel Prize committee awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize to Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below." The microfinance revolution has come a long way since Yunus first provided financing to the poor in Bangladesh. The committee has recognized microfinance as "an important liberating force" and an "ever more important instrument in the struggle against poverty." Although several authors have provided comprehensive surveys of microfinance, our aim is somewhat more modest: This article is intended as a non-technical overview on the growth and development of microcredit and microfinance.Bank loans ; Credit ; Poverty

Decline in house prices slows down; district still faring better than nation

Housing - Prices ; Federal Reserve District, 8th

The geographic distribution and characteristics of U.S. bank failures, 2007-2010: do bank failures still reflect local economic conditions?

The financial crisis and recession that began in 2007 brought a sharp increase in the number of bank failures in the United States. This article investigates characteristics of banks that failed and regional patterns in bank failure rates during 2007-10. The article compares the recent experience with that of 1987-92, when the United States last experienced a high number of bank failures. As during the 1987-92 and prior episodes, bank failures during 2007-10 were concentrated in regions of the country that experienced the most serious distress in real estate markets and the largest declines in economic activity. Although most legal restrictions on branch banking were eliminated in the 1990s, the authors find that many banks continue to operate in a small number of markets and are vulnerable to localized economic shocks.Bank failures

Can Social Security survive the baby boomers?

Social security ; Retirement

How much have U.S. house prices fallen?

Housing - Prices

Increasing political freedom may be key to reducing threats

The root causes of terrorism might not be poverty and lack of education, as many believe. Rather, the lack of civil liberties, political rights and the rule of law might be more influential.Terrorism

A primer on social security systems and reforms

This article reviews the characteristics of different social security systems. Many configurations arise depending on the nature of a system’s funding and determination of benefits. Many reforms propose changing the U.S. Social Security system. The authors focus their analysis of the transition from a pay-as-you-go to a fully funded system. They argue that the key component of any reform is the treatment of the implicit liabilities of a country’s social security system. The welfare gains accruing to some cohorts as a result of such reforms usually stem from either a partial or complete default on the implicit debt of the system, and in that sense the gains imply only a redistribution of welfare across agents. In contrast, the elimination of existing distortions in social security financing can generate efficiency gains, allowing for welfare improvements for all agents. This result shifts the focus from the nature of the system itself and centers the debate on the distortions associated with social security financing.Social security

Eighth District population growth follows national pattern

Federal Reserve District, 8th ; Population