Economics

America’s recovery from the Great Recession of 2007-2009 has been a languid affair. A 2017 paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis blames anemic labor productivity growth.

In the old days, according to popular allegory, you worked for a company most of your life. At retirement, that firm rewarded you with a pension, a guaranteed income for your golden years. These days, retirement planning is a bit more complicated. Fewer employers offer defined-benefit pension plans. Instead they require employees to parse byzantine literature and make life-altering choices for themselves. And more options are available than ever before.

America’s national debt swells more in an hour than most of us will earn in a lifetime. The numbers are frightening. And fear is easy to manipulate. Yet not everyone sees the debt as a national crisis. Some argue that the United States, because it prints the world’s favorite currency – the dollar – and enjoys a solid reputation among investors, is simply taking advantage of its unique position.

No matter the direction, up or down, when the Federal Reserve adjusts its headline interest rate, the global economy moves. Eight times a year, journalists, analysts and investors around the world carefully monitor the Fed’s arcane statements for hints of where the economy is heading.

What’s the Fed?

It is difficult to measure the impact free trade has on individuals. Opening borders to goods, services, money, people and ideas can cost jobs while benefiting consumers. There are winners and losers. With President Donald Trump promising to renegotiate trade agreements and introduce new import tariffs, journalists need to know where to find the data that tell the story of trade and today’s global economy.

Millions of U.S. fathers don’t live with their children. A new study suggests those who are behind in child support see their children less often, work fewer weeks per year and are more likely to have children with multiple partners.