Whenever unemployment stays high for an extended period, it is common to see analyses, statements, and rebuttals about the extent to which the high unemployment is structural, not cyclical. This brief views the Beveridge curve pattern of unemployment and vacancy rates and the related matching...

This paper provides a review of the literature on U.S. central city growth and distress during the second half of the twentieth century. It finds that city growth tended to be higher in metropolitan areas with favorable weather, higher growth, and greater human capital, while distress was...

The apparent outward shift of the Beveridge curve — the empirical relationship between job openings and unemployment — has received much attention among economists and policymakers in the recent years with many analyses pointing to extended unemployment benefits as a reason behind the shift....

The Beveridge curve — the empirical relationship between unemployment and job vacancies — is thought to be an indicator of the efficiency of the functioning of the labor market. Normally, when job vacancies rise, unemployment falls, following a curved path that typically remains stable over...

This Public Policy Brief presents analysis of the labor market by economic research staff at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. It is based on materials originally presented to the Board of Directors of the Boston Fed on April 8, 2004, with selective updates incorporating data reported in early...

This paper investigates competition between jurisdictions in the context of cross-border shopping for state lottery tickets. We first develop a simple theoretical model in which consumers choose between state lotteries and face a trade-off between travel costs and the price of a fair gamble,...

Five of the six New England states provide tax credits or other financial incentives to attract producers of movies, television shows, commercials, and other projects to film on location. This brief focuses on the use of one major incentive: film tax credits, and discusses whether this incentive...

This policy brief summarizes a 2006 working paper by the Research Department at the Boston Fed and the Center: Measuring Disparities in Non-School Costs and Revenue Capacity among Massachusetts Cities and Towns. The paper develops new measures of environmental costs and local revenue capacity as...

This paper examines the distribution of unrestricted municipal aid in Massachusetts, which has been a major concern to civic leaders and elected officials of many communities, including Springfield. The paper develops a measure of the municipal fiscal gap indicating the relative need of...

Municipal governments in Massachusetts have experienced difficulties raising adequate revenues to meet their expenditure needs. Responding to these challenges, policymakers have been investigating additional revenue sources for municipalities, such as new local-option taxes. Using a...