Consumer sentiment is one of the many macroeconomic indicators tracked by policymakers and the public. The aggregate numbers in consumer sentiment indexes, such as the University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment, conceal a wealth of demographic-specific information. The authors'...

The author assesses how ethnic enclaves and networks affect the self-employment decisions of immigrants in the U.S. She finds that ethnic networks play a positive role in the likelihood that immigrants will choose self-employment as an alternative to wage employment. However, there is no clear...

This article asks two basic questions. First, is homeownership more or less likely for Hispanics who choose to reside in an ethnic location; and second, is the location decision jointly or endogenously made with the homeownership decision? The findings suggest that, indeed, the location and...

The authors conduct an empirical analysis of the role of labor market activities in inflation and conclude that wage growth is not very informative for predicting price inflation. But price inflation does seem to help predict wage growth.

Balanced budgets and proponents often use the experience of the states with balanced budget restrictions as an argument in favor of a federal balanced budget amendment. However, the state experience is not directly relevant to the federal government. State restriction are more lenient than those...

The authors use a measure of fiscal impetus to examine how fiscal policy has behaved during business cycles in the past, how it responded to the most recent recession, and how it is likely to evolve over the next several years. They find that policy was more expansionary than average during the...

The authors determine what items are purchased using the earned income tax credit (EITC)—one of the largest sources of public support for lower-income working families in the U.S. They find that recipient households’ EITC payments are used primarily for vehicle purchases and transportation...

The headlines concerning state government finances have become increasingly alarming since mid-2001. This article discusses the roots of the current state fiscal crisis by looking at the decisions made by state government leaders during the long expansion. The author suggests increased use of...

The authors measure the inflation experienced by demographic groups that likely received benefits from major government transfer programs during the period 1980–2010. They then compare the group-specific inflation measures with the transfer programs’ benefit adjustments, which are typically...