As companies and consumers adapt to a changing marketplace, jobs are eliminated and new ones are created. Rates at which this happens vary across states and reflect the flexibility of the labor market. More flexible markets are associated with faster growth.

An explanation of the slower trend rate of U.S. productivity growth in the past two decades as a natural response to unbalanced growth, whereby resources are shifted from sectors with high productivity growth rates to those with lower rates, such as the rapidly expanding service sector.

This Economic Commentary confirms that productivity growth has been unusually robust over the last few years and explores reasonable assumptions about the likely future pattern of productivity growth. These assumptions can generate substantially different productivity growth paths. Government...

Increased productivity could be the key to preserving robust, noninflationary GDP growth. But what is the best measure of productivity? This Economic Commentary explores the relationship between labor productivity and multifactor productivity, a measure that accounts for factors other than...

An examination of the payment problems that will have to be overcome as the electronic marketplace evolves, including the issues of trust between buyer and seller, security of payment instruments, individual privacy versus law enforcement concerns, and the implications for monetary policy.

A critical look at the report of the National Commission to Ensure a Strong Competitive Airline Industry, including an examination of the current state of the industry and prospects for the future.

Money laundering has gone on since the first crime was committed for profit, but it has been explicitly illegal only since 1986. Interest in this topic soars whenever a major “laundromat” is uncovered. This Economic Commentary describes the money laundering process, summarizes the evolving...

Despite the increasing use of credit and debit cards and the emergence of various electronic payment instruments, currency remains king-at least for small-dollar-value transactions. The author examines the Federal Reserve's present role in providing currency and explores the challenges and...

By requiring financial institutions to put adequate controls in place to secure consumers’ confidential data and by clearly spelling out what rights consumers and financial institutions have, the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act is a positive step toward ensuring consumer financial privacy. If...

A description of the U.S. payments system, outlining its evolution and examining some of the areas where improvements are needed.