Risks to workers' jobs & earnings have often been chalked up to "productivity shocks" like technology. Research by visiting scholar Orazio Attanasio & consultant @mdenardi.bsky.social tries a fresh approach to data and finds a good job match is more important. Read more: https://bit.ly/3RV9lxa

Why are U.S. workers less likely to climb the job ladder & see real wage growth over their careers? New research points to employer concentration and non-competes as two reasons it's harder for workers to move. Read our new article: https://bit.ly/4wHih8j

Why are U.S. workers less likely to climb the job ladder & see real wage growth over their careers? New research points to employer concentration and non-competes as two reasons it's harder for workers to move. Read our new article: https://bit.ly/4wHih8j

The composition of job separations changes the answers to central macroeconomic questions about the business cycle. New working paper explores what labor supply does over the cycle, what business cycles cost, and more. https://bit.ly/3TWKUzQ

How should retirees manage finances to balance consumption and health care cost shocks? New paper from Visiting Scholar Mitchell with Horneff, Maurer, and Odenbreit considers welfare effects of different approaches under existing regulatory structures. https://bit.ly/45KxXvD

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Different types of neighborhood-specific policies have different effects on the sorting of families across neighborhoods. This paper uses a general equilibrium model to compare the macroeconomic impact of such policies at scale and over time. https://bit.ly/3RK33jH

The trajectory of productivity growth tells us the economy is producing more. Flat real wage growth tells us many workers are not benefiting from that progress. New article explores why workers are moving jobs less often, once a source of wage growth. https://bit.ly/4wHih8j

New Institute working paper looks at the chain from credit to firms to workers. From @economoser.bsky.social, @farzado.bsky.social, Benjamin Wirth, and Stefanie Wolter: https://bit.ly/4u2yCT0

If you participate in the U.S. economy, you deserve access to insights that researchers at the Opportunity & Inclusive Growth Institute provide. Learn more in our recently redesigned For All magazine. Read the latest issue here: https://bit.ly/32ycmGd

We are pleased to announce our 10th cohort of visiting scholars! These scholars will conduct and share research while in residence at the @minneapolisfed.bsky.social during the 2026–2027 academic year. Congratulations and welcome! https://bit.ly/4xibvqf

To operate, firms often rely on external financing, so firms’ access to credit may affect workers’ wages + employment. In a new paper, @economoser, Saidi, Wirth, & Wolter examine the heterogeneous effects of credit supply on workers within & between firms https://bit.ly/4u2yCT0

States with larger increases in employer concentration & higher prevalence of noncompete agreements show larger declines in efficiency of on-the-job-search. Niklas Engbom @anikbak.bsky.social @danicaratelli.bsky.social show how this has affected real wage growth in the U.S.: https://bit.ly/4cGPfNB

Why do 40% of high-aptitude students—especially low-income students—skip high-quality universities? Oksana Leukhina @stlouisfed.bsky.social research examines this "quality undermatch" gap and explores solutions to improve equality of opportunity. https://bit.ly/48ichsK  

Median household income reflects not only how much each person earns but also how many earners each household has. Changes in households have had large effects on U.S. trends in real median HH income, as senior economist Andrew Goodman Bacon & Richard Liu explain https://bit.ly/3Q5Q231  

From Uber driver pay schedules to ACT scores to microequity financing, visiting scholar @kareemhaggag.bsky.social @uclaanderson.bsky.social uses economics to explore questions of poverty and inequality across diverse contexts. https://bit.ly/4mwnprA  

In the U.S., the length of family leave benefits is headed up--but the length of actual leave-taking appears headed down. Our article looks at the parental leave landscape with research from @rebecca-jack.bsky.social, @btimpe.bsky.social, and Danny Tannenbaum: https://bit.ly/49B9lrA

@jrothst.bsky.social wants to understand how jobs differ from each other--why firms in some regions of the country and some industries pay more than others. His research helps economists build a more realistic picture of the labor market. Read his interview: https://bit.ly/4mtubyq

What’s happening to the job ladder in the U.S.? In new paper Niklas Engbom @anikbak.bsky.social @danicaratelli.bsky.social show that employed workers today are about half as likely to receive a better-paying outside offer as they were in the 1980s. Read the paper: https://bit.ly/4cGPfNB

Nonwage income makes up approx 40% of total personal income in US--but differs in important ways from wage & salary income, its more familiar counterpart, and is more unequally distributed. We use IDDA & Health and Retirement Study data to assess this income source: https://bit.ly/4vy6KYY  

Households in the bottom third by income have an avg of $28K in nonwage income at age 65, and Social Security makes up about half. Households in top third have an avg of $114K and Social Security is less than one-fifth. More in For All data dive: https://bit.ly/41z7DCT  

“When the data start telling us that things we think should be random don’t look like they’re random, there is a lot of fun in trying to think what could be going wrong." Read our spotlight on Chicago Fed's Dan Hartley and his research on housing policies https://bit.ly/3Q5Q231  

In the new issue of For All, we explore who has nonwage income, sources of intergenerational mobility, access to higher education, and the role of neighborhoods on loan repayment. Grab your copy or check it out online: https://bit.ly/32ycmGd

States with larger increases in employer concentration and higher prevalence of noncompete agreements show larger declines in efficiency of on-the-job-search. Niklas Engbom @anikbak.bsky.social @danicaratelli.bsky.social show how this has affected real wage growth in the U.S.: https://bit.ly/4cGPfNB

Most Americans receive relatively little nonwage income--the median in 2023 was just $3K per adult. But 2 groups uniquely rely on it: higher-income Americans & older Americans. We look at how nonwage income matters for these households in new For All https://bit.ly/4vy6KYY 

Firm quality and labor market frictions. Nudges to benefits-eligible populations. Universal child care. @jrothst.bsky.social 's work spans many topics, guided by the goal of designing well-functioning policy. He discusses what works in the new For All. https://bit.ly/4mtubyq  

Last call 📣to submit your work to the Institute Research Conference, which will take place in Minneapolis on Oct 8-9. Follow the link for last year's agenda and photos -- and the link to submit for this year! Deadline is May 3. https://bit.ly/3wiLpn8

The spring issue of For All is out now! Grab your copy to learn more about nonwage income in the U.S. economy, what we can learn from real median household income, and where microequity financing is showing success. PDF available here: https://bit.ly/32ycmGd

Visiting scholar @kareemhaggag.bsky.social @uclaanderson.bsky.social likes to describe his research as lying at “the intersections of economics, psychology, and political science.” Now he is studying new frontiers in microfinance. Read his profile in For All: https://bit.ly/4mwnprA  

Arriving at the Chicago Fed as colleagues were digitizing “residential security” maps, system affiliate Dan Hartley began researching how historic housing policies—from redlining to insurance reforms—continue to influence mobility and property values today. https://bit.ly/48TJGKm