By choosing to locate in a particular place, firms create employment opportunities for workers living there. And the wages they pay increase demand for local goods and services, creating additional job opportunities and further increasing the tax base. Consequently, state and local governments...

Innovation enhances economic performance. High rates of innovation are associated with high rates of productivity growth, and faster productivity growth leads to higher real wages and improvements in standards of living. Consequently, many local policymakers are eager to encourage higher rates...

Deposit insurance was introduced in the United States during the Great Depression primarily to promote financial stability. Stability is enhanced because deposit insurance reduces the likelihood of a bank run. During its first four decades, deposit insurance appeared to work well as few banks...

Large-value payment systems have evolved rapidly in the last 20 years, continually striking a balance between providing liquidity and keeping settlement risk under control. Changes to the design or to the risk management policies of such systems were needed, in part, due to the growth in the...