Briefing
A Rate Cycle Unlike Any Other
Mulloy, Conner; Sarte, Pierre-Daniel G.; Henry, Erin (2023-08)
Since the Federal Open Market Committee began raising the federal funds rate in March 2022, people have speculated on the trajectory of both monetary policy and the economy. By looking at previous rate cycles, this article compares historical monetary policy cycles with the current period. We find the current cycle to be unique in terms of both the speed at which interest rates rose and the movement of inflation during the series of rate hikes.
Richmond Fed Economic Brief , Volume 23 , Issue 26

Briefing
Of Soft, Hard and Aborted Landings
Henry, Erin; Sarte, Pierre-Daniel G.; Taylor, Jack (2024-01)
In this article, we compare two rate cycles from the 1980s (one of which resulted in a soft landing) with our current rate cycle. We describe the type of landing that resulted from each rate cycle through changes in the federal funds target rate, inflation, unemployment and consumption growth. Importantly, since monetary policy is not carried out in a vacuum, we underscore the importance of external shocks in affecting the economy and, ultimately, in determining (along with monetary policy) the rigidity of the landing.
Richmond Fed Economic Brief , Volume 24 , Issue 02

Journal Article
Research Spotlight: Marriage is Extra Work
Henry, Erin (2023-04)
An immense literature in economics is devoted to studying the labor supply of women and determining whether their supply differs by marital status or the presence of children. This literature has found, not surprisingly, that married women tend to have a lower supply of labor compared to women who have never been married. But there has been substantially less research on the relationship of marital status and labor supply for men. It turns out there is also a gap in annual hours worked between married men and men who have never been married, with married men working substantially more. ...
Econ Focus , Volume 23 , Issue 2Q , Pages 3

Briefing
What Survey Measures of Inflation Expectations Tell Us
Mulloy, Conner; Henry, Erin; Sarte, Pierre-Daniel G. (2023-01)
Throughout this period of high inflation, people have wondered when inflation will return to the FOMC's longer-run target of 2 percent. Many models and surveys on inflation expectations exist to help answer this question. In this Economic Brief, we explore the accuracy of these measures of inflation expectations and what information can be obtained from them. While we find these popular sources of inflation are historically inaccurate, they can still gather valuable information, such as people's confidence in the ability of the Fed to get inflation back to target.
Richmond Fed Economic Brief , Volume 23 , Issue 03

Briefing
How Well Insured Are Older Americans?
Henry, Erin; Jones, John Bailey; Sow, Pauline (2023-06)
Using a combination of survey and administrative data, we calculate the portion of medical expenditures that retirees pay out of pocket. We find that retirees are mostly well insured against medical spending risk, with over 80 percent of their spending covered by Medicare, Medicaid or other insurers. We also find, however, that individuals with extremely high medical expenses pay a larger — not smaller — share out of pocket than those with more average expenses. Much of this difference is attributable to nursing home stays, which are typically uncovered by most insurers.
Richmond Fed Economic Brief , Volume 23 , Issue 19