The New York Fed’s Research and Statistics Group combines leading-edge academic research with rigorous policy analysis in an intellectually dynamic and collegial environment.

This brochure offers an overview of our research and policy work and describes the distinctive culture and resources of the Group. It also details the responsibilities of our six functions, identifies our current staff of economists, and highlights the economists’ research interests and recent publications.

A First-Rate Research Community
Our most important asset is our more than sixty Ph.D. economists, a concentration of expertise far larger than that of most university economics departments. Recognized as leading researchers in their fields, these individuals bring breadth and depth to their work in macroeconomics, banking, payments, finance, applied microeconomics, and international economics.

Our economists have compiled an impressive record of publishing in the most highly regarded economics and finance journals. Since 2001, twenty-nine articles by New York Fed economists have appeared in the American Economic Review, the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial Economics, the Journal of Political Economy, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the Review of Financial Studies. Our economists’ work is also extensively represented in the top field journals and in other important outlets.

The New York Fed is an ideal place to conduct financial markets research. It gives economists the opportunity to interact on a regular basis with the Bank’s Markets Group, where trading on behalf of the Federal Reserve System occurs, and with Bank Supervision staff–while working in a rigorous academic environment. Tobias Adrian, MIT Capital Markets Function

New York Fed economists complement their publishing activity by serving on a variety of editorial boards. Current and recent assignments include:

Our economists are also highly visible in the profession, presenting research at preeminent colleges and universities worldwide. They have given papers at the American Economic Association, the American Finance Association, the Bank for International Settlements, the International Monetary Fund, the National Bureau of Economic Research, the U.S. Treasury Department, and the world’s central banks.

In the Research Group, I have the opportunity to combine policy work and academic research in a dynamic setting. My exposure to current economic issues and close work with established colleagues create ideal conditions for producing interesting and relevant research. Gianluca Benigno, Berkeley International Research Function

A First-Year Plan Focusing on Research and Publication
The Research Group recognizes how important it is for young economists to get their research agenda under way as quickly as possible. For new Ph.D. hires, the primary goal in the first year is to produce research and publish in the major journals. To that end, we have designed a first-year plan that allows new economists to devote 90 percent of their time to developing publishable work. We provide additional support in the form of state-of-the-art computing capabilities, ready access to a wide range of economic data, and the assistance of highly trained research associates.

In the first year, new Ph.D. economists also familiarize themselves with the New York Fed’s policy missions by interacting with economists in their area and with other professionals Bankwide. They may contribute to a team working on a policy issue or help prepare a briefing on economic developments for the Bank’s president and senior officers.

What’s remarkable about the New York Fed as a policy institution is its emphasis on research. Close ties to the academic community, vast resources, and direct involvement in practical policy make the Bank an exciting place for researchers interested in theoretical or practical economics. Gauti Eggertsson, Princeton Macroeconomic and Monetary Studies Function

A Collegial Culture
The environment here fosters an extraordinary degree of collaboration and exchange. Economists regularly work together on policy initiatives, and this interaction encourages a lively team spirit that can be missing in academia. In addition, economists frequently coauthor articles and make joint presentations.

Adding to the collegial nature of the Research Group is the lack of a divide between senior and junior staff; there is virtually no hierarchy setting new economists apart from their more experienced colleagues.

The Research Group’s collegial atmosphere leads to a remarkable amount of discussion and collaboration across fields. In addition, the seminar series and visitors program are first rate and provide excellent opportunities for interaction with other economists. Todd Keister, Cornell Money and Payments Studies Function

An Environment Where Ideas Flourish
The Research Group benefits greatly from the New York Fed’s proximity to top-tier universities. Over the past few years, the Group has cosponsored a number of conferences with Columbia, NYU, and Princeton. Fed economists frequently give seminars at these and other institutions.

The New York Fed offers an unusually collegial environment for young economists to develop their research. I don’t know of another institution that provides the same level of support–in the form of attention from senior colleagues, time for research, promotion of one’s work, access to high-level data sets, and the assistance of full-time research associates. Rebecca Hellerstein, UC Berkeley International Research Function

Teaching Activity
Economists also enjoy the opportunity to teach while on staff—whether they take a leave of absence from the Bank or teach part time while working here. Recent teaching activities include:

Sabbatical Program
Our sabbatical program offers economists opportunities to concentrate fully on their own research. The program enables individuals pursuing a specific plan of study to devote up to 100 percent of their time to qualifying work.

Under the program, economists with four or more years of service at the Bank can apply to take between two and twelve months of leave. They receive 90 percent of their salary while on the first six months of leave and 75 percent during the next six months. Economists can also work part time while on sabbatical if the employment contributes to their professional development. For example, an economist can hold a visiting position at a university or other research institution, with limited teaching or other responsibilities.

Economists have already taken advantage of the program to work at such institutions as the Bank of Portugal, Columbia University, and New York University.

Economists looking for a dynamic and exciting work environment will be glad they joined the New York Fed. Each day brings new economic questions to answer and challenges to address, with potentially far-reaching implications. Ayşegül Şahin, University of Rochester Macroeconomic and Monetary Studies Function

Visiting Scholars Program
To help maintain a stimulating and supportive environment for staff economists, the Research Group regularly invites economists from major research institutions to be visiting scholars at the Bank. The visitors present their own work and make themselves available to discuss our economists’ current research.

My research here has been enriched by work on real-world policy issues. In fact, some of my best research ideas have come directly from questions raised by colleagues in Bank Supervision and from issues that have surfaced during policy debates. Beverly Hirtle, MIT Financial Intermediation Function

A Gateway to Academia
The scope and seriousness of our research environment are reflected in our relationship with academia.

The Group has hired many of its more senior economists from university economics and finance faculties. In turn, a number of our economists have gone on to accept faculty positions at prestigious colleges and universities, including Boston College, Brandeis, Columbia, Dartmouth, New York University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Chicago, the University of Stockholm, and the University of Virginia.

Seminars
The Research Group actively encourages participation in seminars and conferences. Ample funds are available for economists to travel to conferences in the United States and abroad. The Bank also provides travel support for those wishing to work with coauthors outside the Bank.

It’s a great experience working in the Research Group. You have the ability to put your own academic research to work, which stimulates participation in the policy debate and the development of new ideas. Argia Sbordone, Chicago Macroeconomic and Monetary Studies Function

In addition, we offer a seminar series that attracts a broad group of distinguished speakers. We present several seminars a week—a clear indication of our commitment to the series.

Selected seminars in 2007 include:

• “Risk, Uncertainty, and Asset Prices,” Geert Bekaert, Columbia University
• “The Changing Nature of Chapter 11,” Sreedhar Bharath, University of Michigan
• “Market-Based Regulation and the Informational Content of Prices,” Philip Bond, University of Pennsylvania
• “Product Creation and Destruction: Evidence and Price Implications,” Christian Broda, University of Chicago, and David Weinstein, Columbia University
• “Sovereign Risk and Secondary Markets,” Fernando Broner, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
• “Estimating Systemic Risk in the International Financial System,” Gregory Brown, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• “State Casket Sales Restrictions: A Pointless Undertaking?” Judith Chevalier, Yale University
• “Credit Scoring and the Competitive Pricing of Default Risk,” Dean Corbae, University of Texas at Austin
• “How Active Is Your Fund Manager? A New Measure that Predicts Performance,” Martijn Cremers, Yale University
• “Bank Ownership, Market Structure, and Risk,” Gianni De Nicoló, International Monetary Fund
• “Interdependent Durations,” Aureo de Paula, University of Pennsylvania
• “Financial Globalization and Monetary Policy,” Michael Devereux, University of British Columbia
• “Do Sticky Prices Need to Be Replaced with Sticky Information?” William Dupor, Ohio State University
• “Downside Risk,” Robert Engle, New York University
• “Exchange Rate Fundamentals and Order Flow,” Martin Evans, Georgetown University
• “The Role of Interbank Markets in Monetary Policy: A Model with Rationing,” Xavier Freixas, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
• “Which Bank Is the ‘Central’ Bank?: An Application of Centrality Measures to the Canadian Large-Value Transfer System,” Rod Garratt, University of California at Santa Barbara
• “Banking and Interest Rates in Monetary Policy Analysis: A Quantitative Exploration,” Marvin Goodfriend, Carnegie Mellon University
• “The Non-Monotonic Relationship between Interest Rates and Exchange Rates,” Viktoria Hnatkovska, University of British Columbia
• “Liquidity Traps, Learning, and Stagnation,” Seppo Honkapohja, University of Cambridge
• “The Young, the Old, and the Restless: Demographics and Business Cycle Volatility,” Nir Jaimovich, Stanford University
• “Introduction to Markov Chain Monte Carlo Methods,” Michael Johannes, Columbia University
• “Persistent Real Exchange Rates,” Amartya Lahiri, University of British Columbia
• “Ability Sorting and Consumer City,” Sanghoon Lee, University of British Columbia
• “Forecasting with Judgment and Models,” Francesca Monti, Université Libre de Bruxelles
• “Capital Allocation,” Stewart Myers, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• “Bounding Best-Response Violations in Discriminatory Auctions with Private Values,” Harry Paarsch, University of Iowa
• “Trade Adjustments and Human Capital Investment: Evidence from Indian Tariff Reform,” Nina Pavcnik, Dartmouth College
• “Relating Output and Volatility across Countries,” Pietro Reichlin, Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli
• “Measuring Changes in the Value of the Numeraire,” Ricardo Reis, Princeton University
• “Does Mentoring Reduce Turnover and Improve the Effectiveness of New Teachers? Evidence from New York City,” Jonah Rockoff, Columbia University
• “A Stable International Monetary System Emerges: Inflation Targeting Is Bretton Woods, Reversed,” Andrew Rose, University of California at Berkeley
• “Auctioning Financial Assets: Discriminatory versus Uniform, Which Method Is Preferred?” Orly Sade, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• “The Effect of Judicial Bias in Chapter 11 Reorganization,” Antoinette Schoar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• “Foreign Banks in Mexico: New Conquistadors or Agents of Change?” Heiner Schulz, University of Pennsylvania
• “Does Improved Market Access Raise Plant-Level Productivity?” Daniel Trefler, University of Toronto
• “Incomplete Information Processing: A Solution to the Forward Discount Puzzle,” Eric van Wincoop, University of Virginia
• “Gasoline Prices and Grocery Purchases: Revisiting the Income Effect,” Sofia Berto Villas-Boas, University of California at Berkeley
• “Mortality, Mass Layoffs, and Career Outcomes: An Analysis Using Administrative Data,” Till von Wachter, Columbia University

The New York Fed is a key player in the formulation of monetary policy, and many leading scholars in monetary economics live in or around New York City. The Visiting Scholars Program draws on this synergy by bringing academics and policymakers together on a regular basis to confer on important topical issues. Thomas Sargent, William R. Berkeley Professor of Economics and Business, New York University; Visiting Scholar, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Conferences
Over the past few years, the Research Group has hosted many well-received research conferences addressing a diverse set of topics, including systemic risk, disclosure requirements and market discipline of financial firms, monetary policy and the money market, policy options for affordable housing, and strategies for improving the measurement of economic and financial market performance.

The commitment to academic research at the Bank is outstanding. This commitment is reflected in the amount of time economists can devote to pure research as well as in the numerous seminars, distinguished visiting professors, and exceptional colleagues here. David Skeie, Princeton Money and Payments Studies Function

A Rich Computing Environment
Economists can take advantage of the Research Group’s state-of-the-art computing environment and enjoy access to a broad spectrum of real and financial data sources.

The main elements of the computing infrastructure include:

• Two interconnected networks. The highly flexible Research Accessible Network (RAN) and the Bank’s highly secure internal network are available to economists. The RAN was designed for the exclusive use of researchers, our visitors, and external collaborators. It provides liberal access to outside resources, such as the Internet, while offering external collaborators and coauthors more convenient access to RAN resources from outside the Bank. The Bank’s network can be used to conduct confidential and classified policy work and provides access to Bankwide resources such as Federal Reserve System Intranet applications and websites.
• Robust data storage and backup solutions. An expandable terabytes storage area network platform allows for a range of data storage capabilities on the Bank’s network.
• A high-performance environment of Linux clusters. Roughly sixty processors enable parallel computing in Research, complemented by additional Linux servers on the Bank network as well as on the RAN.
• Convenient remote access. An array of automated tools are on hand to assist economists at home or abroad; BlackBerry devices are also available for mobile communication.
• Versatile workstation options. Desktop and laptop solutions can be combined to meet economists’ research needs; a dual-workstation option enables simultaneous access to the Bank network and the RAN.

With its emphasis on research and its breadth of supporting professionals, combined with its key role in formulating economic policy, the New York Fed provides a research setting like no other. It is a great place for economists to conduct independent research, derive new ideas from current policy issues, and see those ideas inform policymaking at the highest level. Tanju Yorulmazer, NYU Financial Intermediation Function

Extensive Professional Support
A superb group of administrative, computer, editorial, and library professionals help economists meet their research objectives.

Joining this group of support personnel are roughly two dozen research associates, who offer skilled and energetic assistance in gathering data, conducting statistical analysis, and preparing materials for presentations.

Our RAs are typically recent college graduates who intend to pursue a Ph.D. in economics. Indeed, since 2001, fifteen RAs have gone on to top-five Ph.D. programs while another twenty have entered top-twenty programs. Among this group, six RAs have been awarded National Science Foundation fellowships.

The New York Fed enables me to be near the financial markets and work on issues of direct importance to the operation of the U.S. financial system. The Bank strongly encourages innovative theory and critical thinking, and my fellow economists are a great resource for insight into monetary policy and open market operations. Zhenyu Wang, University of Minnesota Financial Intermediation Function

Wide Internet Exposure
Wide Internet Exposure
Personal web pages on the New York Fed’s site, www.newyorkfed.org/research/economists/, heighten economists’ visibility in the academic, policy, and business communities.

The pages feature the economist’s biography and field of interest as well as links to curricula vitae, publications, and working papers. These are among the most visited pages on the Research Group’s website.

The New York Fed is unique in its emphasis on academic research and policy research. Ample resources—including excellent computing support, the assistance of dedicated research associates, multiple seminar series, and a rich visitors program—provide an ideal research environment. In addition, the opportunities for relating academic research to practical policy and real-world applications make the experience here all the more exciting and fruitful. Rajashri Chakrabarti, Cornell Microeconomic and Regional Studies Function

Census Research Data Center The Research Group, on behalf of the New York Fed, helped establish a U.S. Census Bureau Research Data Center in New York City. The Bank is a founding member of the consortium that supports the facility, joining other leading universities and research organizations in New York State. The presence of the Research Data Center in the New York area supports an important strand of empirical research in the Bank and the region. At the Data Centers, researchers who have completed a rigorous project review process can access in a secure facility selected confidential economic and demographic microdata gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau. The New York Fed’s consortium membership entitles Research Group economists to use the facility to conduct research with no additional lab fees or the need to travel. The New York Fed offers a unique combination of interaction with top economists and exposure to interesting policy questions. It’s a great place to work, especially for economists whose research ideas are inspired by real-world issues. Antoine Martin, University of Minnesota Money and Payments Studies Function     To learn more about joining the Research Group: www.newyorkfed.org/careers/phd.html. By conviction and action, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is an equal opportunity employer.