We are now in the acute economic phase of a crisis that is unprecedented in modern times — a health crisis from the coronavirus pandemic that has sparked a follow-on economic crisis. The virus represents both a supply shock (as people are forced not to work and supply chains are disrupted by the need
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The coronavirus has, in a matter of weeks, had a profound impact on the world economy. The economic impacts stem both from the direct effect of those who fall ill and from the measures taken to contain or slow the progression of the pandemic. These effects, operating through both domestic and global
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During economic downturns the social safety net can play a critical role for families as well as for the economy more broadly. Social programs can protect vulnerable families by making it easier for them to continue to meet basic needs. The social safety net can also act as a fiscal stimulus — increasing
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Inflation has averaged just over 1-1/2 percent over the past decade, well below the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. Such low inflation for such an extended stretch is quite unusual given historical economic relationships. With the current unemployment rate near historic lows, the persistent soft
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There is increasing speculation regarding whether the Federal Reserve might set a negative target for the federal funds rate should the economy enter a recession. If it did, the Fed would not be the first central bank to do so. Although negative policy rates have been rare until recently, the European
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Slowing growth abroad, particularly in Germany and China, as well as ongoing trade disputes have spurred much recent discussion about the extent to which these factors might hurt the American economy. But how can we gauge how these factors and other developments are reverberating across the U.S. economy?
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The Federal Reserve kept interest rates low (and took extraordinary expansionary actions) in response to the financial and economic crisis that began in the autumn of 2008. Beginning in December 2015, as the recovery gained traction, the Fed began gradually raising the federal funds rate, the interest
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