The Region December 2009 | The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

University of Chicago economist on whether banks are still "special," why this crisis was so severe, and prospects for regulatory reform

Work to be Done
Narayana Kocherlakota's inaugural column on the importance of communication and using research to address key policy questions [PDF]

Incentive Compensation in the Banking Industry: Insights from Economic Theory
An Economic Policy Paper on lessons provided by economic theory about designing compensation systems that are optimal for banks and society at large. [PDF]
The Meaning of Slutsky
The insight of an obscure Soviet statistician—that random processes can form cyclical patterns—has profoundly shaped our understanding of economic booms and recessions. [In Brief] [PDF]
The Mechanics of Demand
The Slutsky equation clarifies the complicated effects of price changes. [PDF]
Breaking it down
A graphic explanation of Slutsky's equation.
Mystery Solved?
A Minneapolis Fed economist offers a promising solution to a persistent puzzle. But work remains… [In Brief] [PDF]

A new Region feature that provides summaries of recent papers.

Solving Asset Market Riddles
In three papers, Monika Piazzesi and Martin Schneider explore asset market puzzles with the help of heterogeneous and less-than-rational economic actors. [PDF]
Giving Credit Its Due
A multicountry analysis by Cristina Arellano, Yan Bai and Jing Zhang suggests that healthy credit markets are crucial to efficient operation of a nation's firms—both large and small. [PDF]