U.S. commercial lending spiked in May 2020 because of small-business participation in the Paycheck Protection Program. Households reined in their spending and use of credit as the economy worsened, unlike what they did during the last recession. Many lenders changed credit policies to offset risk, including tightening lending standards.

The FRED graph above shows online retail sales. It’s no surprise these sales have been steadily increasing, even if there are a few rough patches during recessions. And it’s also completely expected that the pandemic provided a large boost to e-commerce over on-site retail. The question is whether this is a temporary boost that will subside once the world returns to normal. That is, will the previous trend continue where it left off or has the online sector gotten a boost that will put it on a higher trajectory?

Obviously, it’s still too early to say exactly what the “new normal” will look like. But, at the time of this writing, it looks like the second option is correct and there’s a new trajectory for online sales. But not much has been normal about the current recession, so only time will tell. Visit this blog post later to see how the graph updates with new data.

How this graph was created: Search FRED for “online retail” and the right series is among...

Studying the interconnectedness of work, family and home has been a passion for Betsey Stevenson, a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

“Economists typically talk about the tradeoff between work and leisure, ... but what people are really thinking about is work for pay, work at home, leisure,” she said. “And they have to make choices about how they’re going to allocate their time across those three things.”

Allocating time forces people to make decisions on such things as child care, family size and career plans, the labor economist pointed out.

“All these decisions are going to be interrelated, and that’s something I’ve always been very interested in,” she said.

In a Women in Economics Podcast Series episode, Stevenson talked about her research, the #MeToo movement and its impact on the field of economics, the importance of diversity and her efforts to create...

By Ana Maria Santacreu, Senior Economist; and Jesse LaBelle, Research Associate

The protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) have become an important component of current trade policy. For instance, the U.S.-China trade war that began in 2018 was influenced by American accusations of misappropriation of technology by China. And negotiations of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which replaced NAFTA in 2020, introduced a high-standard intellectual property (IP) chapter requiring strong and effective protection and enforcement of IPR.

The emphasis on IPR related to trade is not a new phenomenon. Indeed, the scope of regional trade agreements (RTAs) has changed over the recent decades. Prior to the formation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, RTAs were mostly concerned with removing trade barriers between the countries signing the agreement. However, the Uruguay round introduced Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property...

Attention, parents and kids! Here’s a free, fun way for elementary, middle and high school students to learn age-appropriate personal finance concepts. Fight learning loss this summer: Sign up for the St. Louis Fed’s Personal Finance Virtual Summer Camp.

Cost: FREE

When: This self-paced camp will be open any time May 24 to Aug. 20, 2021. It is designed to last a couple of hours each day, Monday-Friday, for one week.

What: Through videos, Q&As and interactive online modules, young learners will discover and apply essential concepts, including:

By Michael C. Eggleston, Senior Community Development Advisor

Community lenders will soon have the opportunity to help deploy funding from a revived federal program to the small businesses that need it. Changes to the newly reauthorized State Small Business Credit Initiative include funding targeted to businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.

After the Great Recession, many small businesses struggled to get access to credit. In response to that crisis, the State Small Business Credit Initiative, a component of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, was created. The SSBCI allocated $1.5 billion to states to support a variety of small-business financing programs.

While the initiative that was passed in 2010 (SSBCI 1.0) ended under a sunset date in 2017, the American Rescue Plan Act signed into law March 11 reauthorized it, while making some changes to the program and injecting it with an additional $10 billion....

At the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, we believe the Federal Reserve most effectively serves the American public by building a more diverse and inclusive economy. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion, at all levels of the organization, has been one of our core values for many years and remains strong as we work to continue enhancing our efforts.

By Kristie Engemann, Economic Content Coordinator

Why is innovation important to an economy?

Economist Ana Maria Santacreu has addressed that question in her discussions of innovation and in her research on economic growth, international trade and macroeconomics.

Economists view innovation as the main driver of productivity growth, which in turn is viewed as the main driver of economic growth, she explained in a 2017 Economic Synopses essay. (Productivity is the ratio of output per worker per unit of time.)

But how can innovation be measured? Which countries are the world leaders in innovative activity? And in the U.S., which states have the most innovation?

By Ana Maria Santacreu, Senior Economist; and Jesse LaBelle, Research Associate

The protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) have become an important component of current trade policy. For instance, the U.S.-China trade war that began in 2018 was influenced by American accusations of misappropriation of technology by China. And negotiations of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which replaced NAFTA in 2020, introduced a high-standard intellectual property (IP) chapter requiring strong and effective protection and enforcement of IPR.

The emphasis on IPR related to trade is not a new phenomenon. Indeed, the scope of regional trade agreements (RTAs) has changed over the recent decades. Prior to the formation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, RTAs were mostly concerned with removing trade barriers between the countries signing the agreement. However, the Uruguay round introduced Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property...

Ana Hernández Kent

Our Institute for Economic Equity held a virtual sit-down with an official from the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis to chat about underrepresentation and the entrepreneurial spirit.

By Ana Maria Santacreu, Senior Economist; and Jesse LaBelle, Research Associate

The protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) have become an important component of current trade policy. For instance, the U.S.-China trade war that began in 2018 was influenced by American accusations of misappropriation of technology by China. And negotiations of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which replaced NAFTA in 2020, introduced a high-standard intellectual property (IP) chapter requiring strong and effective protection and enforcement of IPR.

The emphasis on IPR related to trade is not a new phenomenon. Indeed, the scope of regional trade agreements (RTAs) has changed over the recent decades. Prior to the formation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, RTAs were mostly concerned with removing trade barriers between the countries signing the agreement. However, the Uruguay round introduced Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property...

A recent Economic Synopses essay examined U.S. business dynamism—the rates at which firms enter the market, grow and leave—and how this has changed in recent decades.

In her essay, Economist Hannah Rubinton focused on the difference in dynamism between large and small U.S. cities. She noted that U.S. business dynamism has declined since the 1980s, with smaller cities seeing a larger decrease than larger cities.

“Given that dynamism is important for productivity and economic growth, the differential changes in dynamism across cities could be important to understanding the divergence in wages and skill-composition between large and small cities,” she wrote.

Historically, small businesses (defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as enterprises with 500 or fewer employees) have played a significant role in the American economy. According to the SBA, these companies represent 99.7% of all firms, employ about half of all private sector employees and generate 64% of net new jobs. While job markets grew at the end of 2019, the beginning of 2020 saw the market come to a sudden stop with the onset of COVID-19. As the pandemic made its way throughout the country in March 2020, it caused small businesses to face unprecedented disruptions. Over the course of the next year, many activities ceased or pivoted because of stay-at-home orders and calls to socially distance, resulting in tough decisions for small-business owners.

A recent Economic Synopses essay examined U.S. business dynamism—the rates at which firms enter the market, grow and leave—and how this has changed in recent decades.

In her essay, Economist Hannah Rubinton focused on the difference in dynamism between large and small U.S. cities. She noted that U.S. business dynamism has declined since the 1980s, with smaller cities seeing a larger decrease than larger cities.

“Given that dynamism is important for productivity and economic growth, the differential changes in dynamism across cities could be important to understanding the divergence in wages and skill-composition between large and small cities,” she wrote.