The Chicago Fed hosted a community forum on Wednesday, July 1, that brought together government, civic, health, and business leaders to share their visions for how Chicago recovers from the Covid-19 crisis and rebuilds its economy. The discussion underscored the urgent need for Chicago to tackle its longstanding challenges of providing equal opportunity (especially in education and jobs), combating racism, and reducing wealth inequality as part of the city’s response to the pandemic.

The forum is the first in a series of events the Chicago Fed is hosting as part of Project Hometown, a new initiative to engage all communities in the region as they confront long-term and newly emerging challenges. Project Hometown brings together civic leaders, expert researchers, Chicago Fed staff, and concerned residents. Through these diverse perspectives, the Chicago Fed will examine how the region’s cities and towns can recover from the pandemic, overcome longstanding inequities,...

Maude Toussaint-Comeau is a senior business economist in the community development and policy studies division of the economic research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Toussaint-Comeau's research has been on the use of formal and informal financial markets by minority groups and the use of alternative financial services, such as check-cashing outlets and payday loan companies. She has also conducted a line of research on immigrant utilization of financial services; labor market adjustment of immigrants; immigrant impact on natives; homeownership attainment of immigrants; and immigrant self-employment and business ethnic networks. Her current research focuses on consumer sentiment and consumption expenditure and on diversity and firms' productivity. She has been published in International Migration Studies, Contemporary Economic Policy and Review of Economics and Statistics. Prior to joining the Chicago Fed in June 1998, she taught...

The Chicago Fed’s National Financial Conditions Index (NFCI) provides a comprehensive weekly update on U.S. financial conditions in money markets, debt and equity markets and the traditional and “shadow” banking systems. Because U.S. economic and financial conditions tend to be highly correlated, we also present an alternative index, the adjusted NFCI (ANFCI). This index isolates a component of financial conditions uncorrelated with economic conditions to provide an update on financial conditions relative to current economic conditions.

The NFCI and ANFCI are updated on a weekly basis at 8:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, and cover the time period through the previous Friday. When a federal holiday falls on a Wednesday or earlier in the week, the NFCI and ANFCI will be updated on Thursday.

The past decade of growth in the U.S. economy has benefited some places and demographic groups more than others. Despite aggregate increases in employment, wages, and home prices, wide gaps remain, especially between racial groups. This pattern has drawn the attention of stakeholders in the public, philanthropic, and nonprofit sectors in cities across the country. Some cities face unique challenges in supporting their communities most in need. Many older industrial cities in the Midwest have limited public and philanthropic resources, challenging demographic trends and local economies that have transitioned away from manufacturing as the dominant employment sector.

 

Given these shifts, we wondered: have community and economic development (CED) practitioners identified economic inclusion as a priority in these cities? If so, how are they defining the problem and addressing barriers to economic growth for lower-income places and people? What strategies are...

Entrepreneurial activity among minority individuals has been on the rise in recent years, contributing to an increase in jobs and economic growth (Bernard and Slaughter, 2004). Minority-owned firms, however, continue to face many challenges, particularly those related to access to start-up funding and expansion capital that undermine their longevity or survivability. As minority entrepreneurs increase their presence in the business sector, their success or failure reverberate even more into the broader economy. Policymakers need timely information in order to design effective policies to help address the needs of firms that are viable.

 

We analyze trends in minority self-employment and small business growth, as well as business start and exit dynamics. We also analyze available data to gauge the trends in financing and resources used by business owners for start-up and expansion of their ventures. The analysis is primarily descriptive, and we rely on...

The virtual event brought together government, community, health, and business leaders to discuss visions for how Chicago recovers from the COVID-19 crisis.

The discussion moderated by Charles Evans, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, looked at how Chicago can meet the public health challenge of COVID-19, rebuild the economy, and ensure all residents share in a strong future for the city.

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The virtual event brought together government, community, health, and business leaders to discuss visions for how Chicago recovers from the COVID-19 crisis.

The discussion moderated by Charles Evans, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, looked at how Chicago can meet the public health challenge of COVID-19, rebuild the economy, and ensure all residents share in a strong future for the city.

The virtual event will bring together government, community, health, and business leaders to discuss visions for how Chicago recovers from the COVID-19 crisis.

The discussion moderated by Charles Evans, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, will look at how Chicago can meet the public health challenge of COVID-19, rebuild the economy, and ensure all residents share in a strong future for the city.

The virtual event will bring together government, community, health, and business leaders to discuss visions for how Chicago recovers from the COVID-19 crisis.

The discussion moderated by Charles Evans, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, will look at how Chicago can meet the public health challenge of COVID-19, rebuild the economy, and ensure all residents share in a strong future for the city.

The virtual event will bring together government, community, health, and business leaders to discuss visions for how Chicago recovers from the COVID-19 crisis.

The discussion moderated by Charles Evans, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, will look at how Chicago can meet the public health challenge of COVID-19, rebuild the economy, and ensure all residents share in a strong future for the city.