The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, through its Community Development function, is curating a conversation on the creation of markets of well-being that lead to place-based, cross-sector, upstream investments that produce opportunity-rich neighborhoods and communities.
Although trillions of dollars are spent to improve economic opportunity and well-being across many sectors, these efforts often fall short. Individuals, households, and communities continue to struggle because investments are typically fragmented. Moreover, they fail to attract private capital at a scale commensurate with the size of the problem. The Making Missing Markets (MMM) Initiative seeks to change this dynamic and improve well-being across all communities, especially for low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities.
The United States spends more per capita on social welfare than almost any other country, but the outcomes do not reflect that investment. One reason is that too often the money goes toward treating the downstream consequences of well-being—such as unemployment, chronic disease, homelessness, and business disinvestment—instead of addressing the upstream determinants of well-being, such as early childhood education, affordable housing and workforce development. Upstream investments that have been made are often inconsistent and poorly coordinated. The Making Missing Markets Initiative aims to reimagine and build markets that deploy existing sources of public and private capital more effectively, creating stronger incentives for better outcomes. Learn more.
Because place‑based investment is central to Making Missing Markets, the Community Development team has begun engaging communities we call Making Missing Markets Communities. A Making Missing Markets Community is one where investments are being designed and implemented by a leading local organization—or group of organizations—serving as the Community Quarterback. The Community Quarterback is trusted and well-positioned to assess cross‑sector needs, including those of the local economy.
A Community Quarterback commits to championing key MMM principles:
- Focusing on community voice
- Implementing cross‑sector interventions
- Prioritizing upstream investments
- Braiding resources across sectors and capital types
- Scaling existing and identifying new capital sources
- Promoting market‑based, sustainable solutions
- Collecting and sharing data to validate interventions
Making Missing Market Community efforts are independently led by outside experts. The New York Fed has no formal oversight of Making Missing Markets Communities; its role is to provide meeting space, feedback, opportunities to come together, and a community of practice.
The New York Fed’s Community Development team is building an ecosystem of individuals, organizations, and communities interested in driving greater investment to improve the well-being of low- and moderate-income people and neighborhoods. The Community Development team is bringing together leaders across sectors who can imagine how to do better by developing new business models that address the root causes of multiple challenges, improving opportunity while saving tax dollars.
The Community Development team started with and is continuing this exploration with Design Teams. These are working groups that are designing interventions and ways to finance and support interventions that improve economic opportunity and well-being. For example, one Design Team is examining new business models that have the potential to attract private capital to sustainably fund community health workers—a proven strategy for improving community well-being.
Each Design Team is independently led by one or more outside experts. While the New York Fed has no formal relationship or oversight of the teams, it does provide space for meetings, roundtables, workshops, and public events. In addition, the New York Fed’s Community Development team is available to give feedback on Design Team ideas and offer opportunities for Design Teams to learn from one another, both virtually and in person.
