SF Fed Blog
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Six Things to Know about Student Loan Debt in the Bay Area
We recently partnered with the San Francisco Treasurer’s Office of Financial Empowerment to take a look at student loan debt for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area region using Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax Data. Here’s what we found.
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A Way Forward: Addressing Mobile Segregation in the Bay Area
Earlier this year, the San Francisco Fed partnered with Northern California Grantmakers to host a program exploring new research and writing on the shifting geographies of poverty and segregation in the Bay Area and what we can do to build a more inclusive region where everyone can thrive. In this post, Sarah Frankfurth, Manager of Collaborative Philanthropy at Northern California Grantmakers, reflects on themes and key points from the discussion.
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Rx Opioid Side Effects on Workforce Participation
How does short and long-term prescription opioid use affect temporary disability claims and workforce participation? Our new one-minute video summarizes recent research findings.
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Falling Female Labor Force Participation in China and India
In most countries, women’s participation in the labor force has steadily improved over the past several decades. However, in the world’s two most populous economies—China and India—female labor force participation rates have been declining. This blog takes a close look at factors underlying this development, the potential impacts on economic performance, and public policy options that can help slow or reverse the trend.
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Here We Go Again: Weak Growth to Start the Year
Economic growth at the start of this year is looking soft. However, historical data suggest some of this slowing may simply reflect a statistical anomaly.
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Why Do Japanese Households Hold So Much Cash?
Japanese households are well known for their preference for cash, which represents the majority of their financial assets. While Japan’s economic and financial history explain part of this behavior, broader structural and cultural factors are also at play.
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A Q&A Session by the Asia Program on Quora
The Country Analysis Unit (CAU) hosted a Quora session on Financial and Economic Development in late 2018. Quora users posed a variety of questions to the CAU team and then voted for those they most wanted to see answered. We have summarized and linked to a number of the most popular questions and answers in this blog.
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Affordable Housing Funds Build on Experience
With the recent launch of two $500 million funds to support below-market housing, increasing attention is being focused on other funds for supporting production and preservation of affordable housing. But loan funds aren’t new, and there’s a lot we can learn from existing funds.
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India’s Aadhaar Challenge: Balancing Data Rights, Financial Inclusion, and Innovation
India’s adoption of unique biometric identities, known as Aadhaar, has catalyzed inclusion and innovation in financial services. However, Aadhaar has always raised concerns over the appropriate use of digital IDs in the broader social fabric. With India’s Supreme Court recently restricting Aadhaar’s use, its role is now in question. Financial market participants will have to adjust to shifts in rules as they balance emerging data rights with gains in inclusion and innovation.
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Did the Yield Curve Flip? Will the Economy Dip?
As the yield curve has continued to flatten, worries about recession risk have increased. However, according to conventional metrics, the current yield curve is not inverted and therefore does not predict a recession in the near future.