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Mar 28, 2023

Keeping Up with Rent: Recent Rent Hikes and Their Impact on Affordability Standards

Rents increased significantly across the nation in 2021 and ‘22, outpacing HUD’s Fair Market Rent estimates. This Partners Update analyzes the effects of updated methodology on a key resource for understanding the cost of rental housing.

Mar 07, 2023

How Understanding Benefits Cliffs Can Help Employers Attract and Retain Talent

The tight labor market has forced many employers to boost wages, but wage gains may produce negligible increases or effective losses for some workers. This Partners Update article examines how employers can leverage the CLIFF Dashboard Employer Edition to improve their workers’ financial well-being and boost their ability to recruit talent.

Jan 17, 2023

Climate-Related Risks and Disasters: Implications for Financial Stability and Inclusion

Climate-related risks and disasters are risks to human and natural systems that may lead to more severe and frequent shocks or stressors. In this Partners Update article, our Community and Economic Development team considers the implications of climate-related risks and disasters for southeastern states.

Sep 02, 2022

Emergency Rental Assistance Insights from the Southeast

Emergency Rental Assistance programs helped struggling renters during the pandemic. Community and Economic Development staff spoke with southeastern affordable rental housing stakeholders to understand local and state implementation of these programs. Learn more in Partners Update.

Jul 29, 2022

CDFIs Expand Access to Workforce Development Training

The workforce development sector needs new ways to finance education and training at every level. Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) can play an important role. This Partners Update article summarizes a recent paper that explores partnerships with CDFIs in the workforce development system.

Jul 14, 2022

Household Financial Well-Being in the Southeast

A healthy economy is one that offers economic mobility and resilience to everyone. Read Partners Update for a discussion of two webinars in the Atlanta Fed’s Inclusive and Resilient Recovery series that looked at the financial health of households.

Oct 21, 2021

Guaranteed Income (GI) Dashboard: Visualizing Public Benefits Loss for Participants in GI Pilot Programs

The Atlanta Fed developed the Guaranteed Income Dashboard tool as part of our Advancing Careers initiative. Partners Update discusses the tool and how practitioners, policymakers, and GI recipients are using it in GI pilot programs across the country.

Aug 24, 2021

Policy Rules Database: Visualizing the US Social Safety Net

The Atlanta Fed and the National Center for Children in Poverty have developed the Policy Rules Database to provide clarity on the complexity of the US social safety net. Partners Update provides an overview of the database and visualization tool.

Jul 15, 2021

Inclusive and Resilient Recovery: Career Pathways to Household Financial Well-Being - July 15, 2021

Atlanta Fed Community and Economic Development staff members and guests discuss how career advancement is tied to household financial well-being. They also consider the systemic barriers that pose challenges to economic self-sufficiency.

Jun 21, 2021

What Can Be Done about the Childcare Benefits Cliff? A Case Study in Florida

Partners Update summarizes a recent discussion paper that looks at the benefits cliffs associated with childcare, using two contrasting Florida counties as examples.

Jun 18, 2021

Restructuring the Eligibility Policies of the Child Care and Development Fund to Address Benefits Cliffs and Affordability

This paper explores how the current eligibility policies of the federal Child Care and Development Fund create benefits cliffs and affordability challenges that act as barriers to economic self-sufficiency.

Jun 03, 2021

Special Briefing: Despite CDC Moratorium, Atlanta-Area Eviction Filings Hit Low-Income, Minority Neighborhoods Adobe PDF file format

This paper examines eviction filings that occurred during the pandemic in the Atlanta metro area. The authors find that a neighborhood’s racial composition and median income serve as strong indicators of pandemic eviction filings.

May 13, 2021

Inclusive and Resilient Recovery: Household Financial Well-Being in the Southeast - May 13, 2021

Atlanta Fed Community and Economic Development staff and guest speakers provide a framework for financial well-being and its relationship to an inclusive and resilient recovery for the whole economy.

Apr 30, 2021

Real Experiences of the Pandemic: Monitoring the Crisis

The Atlanta and Boston Feds and the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality are cosponsoring a new series of reports, Monitoring the Crisis: American Voices Project. Partners Update examines the first four reports on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on people and communities.

Mar 24, 2021

Tackling an Inclusive and Resilient Recovery in the Southeast

The Atlanta Fed’s Community and Economic Development engagement team launched the Inclusive and Resilient Recovery initiative to support strategies for a more inclusive and resilient economic recovery. Partners Update reflects on the ongoing webinar series and the goals of this initiative.

Feb 10, 2021

Financial Resilience Challenges during the Pandemic

The history of discriminatory policies leaves many Black and Hispanic people less resilient in the face of the economic shock caused by the pandemic. Partners Update examines this history's connections to household financial resilience.

Dec 30, 2020

Tackling Racial Equity through Community Development

Focusing on the role structural racism plays in our economy and society, the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta, Boston, and Minneapolis launched the Racism and the Economy series. Partners Update reflects on emerging lessons from the series and what it means to use data and expertise to inform policymakers.

Oct 07, 2020

Expansion of New Law in Southeast May Stave Off Black Land Loss

Heirs’ property can result when a property owner dies without a legally recognized estate plan in place. This form of ownership disproportionately affects lower-wealth African Americans. Partners Update examines some recent legislation on heirs’ property in the Southeast.

Sep 18, 2020

The Racial Income Gap and Benefits Cliffs

Income gaps along racial lines are the result of long-standing structurally discriminatory policies across U.S. institutions. Although laws have changed, the legacy of these policies still affects people today. Partners Update examines how benefits cliffs differentially affect minority populations.

Jul 13, 2020

Perspectives from Main Street on COVID-19

A new Federal Reserve System report spotlights the impact of COVID-19 on low- to moderate-income communities. This report examines the findings of a nationwide survey of over 1,800 respondents representing nonprofits, financial institutions, government agencies, and community organizations. Read Partners Update to learn more.

Jun 04, 2020

Dollars and Sense: Affordability of Childcare

For many working families with young children, childcare is essential to maintain employment. Childcare prepares children for kindergarten and future learning and success. Partners Update examines childcare during the economic downturn, including its costs.

May 19, 2020

Household Economic Outlook before and after COVID-19

The Board has released its annual report on household economic well-being. In April 2020, the Board conducted a supplemental survey of over 1,000 adults to gauge households' overall financial circumstances during COVID-19. Read a summary of the report in Partners Update.

May 13, 2020

Amid the COVID-19 Crisis, a Tale of Two Southeastern Cities

Congress passed the CARES Act and other legislation to help workers who have lost their jobs during the pandemic. Partners Update considers a case study of a hypothetical laid-off restaurant worker in Birmingham and Miami and the potential financial assistance he'd receive in each city.

May 05, 2020

Protecting Vulnerable Populations from COVID-19

COVID-19 is having disproportionate health and economic impacts on racial and ethnic minority, low-income, low-wealth, and rural residents. Partners Update examines research on tracking the spread of the virus to protect vulnerable citizens.

Apr 14, 2020

Tackling the Unknown Together: Community Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Our community and economic development team conducted a virtual listening tour to collect real-time economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 public health crisis in low- and moderate-income communities and the organizations that serve them. Read Partners Update for a discussion of the findings.

Nov 20, 2019

Report on Heirs' Property Highlights Challenges and Interventions for Communities

Heirs' property is land inherited by the descendants of a previous owner, often one who did not leave a will. Partners Update discusses a comprehensive report on the issues facing these property owners, including the inability to transfer wealth to future generations.

Jul 06, 2017

Special Edition Podcast: Heirs' Property

When grandma dies without a will, property is passed on to her children, and then to each successive generation. Listen to experts discuss the complications of heirs property in a special edition episode of the Economy Matters podcast. podcast

Mar 23, 2017

Event: Strong Foundations: The Economic Futures of Kids and CommunitiesOff-site link

Does early child development plus education equal a stronger economy? The Federal Reserve System's 10th Biennial Community Development Research Conference spotlighted high-quality, emerging research on this and other questions, with featured speakers including Fed Chair Janet Yellen and Geoffrey Canada of the Harlem Children's Zone.

Feb 16, 2017

Housing Instability: Single-Family Evictions in One Atlanta Metro County

A recent discussion paper examines housing instability and the rise of institutional investors in Fulton County's single-family rental housing. Partners Update discusses the findings and implications for communities and families.

Feb 14, 2017

Economic Mobility: Research & Ideas on Strengthening Families, Communities & the EconomyOff-site link

This Board of Governors and Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis publication includes selected papers that were presented at the ninth biennial Federal Reserve System's Community Development Research Conference. The essays explore a range of issues and concepts central to understanding how—and how well—people are able to move economically.

Feb 14, 2017

An Introduction to CRA YouTubeOff-site link

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) encourages banks to help meet the credit needs of the communities they are chartered to serve, including the low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in those areas. This video explores the CRA's provisions and how regulators evaluate a bank's CRA performance.

Feb 06, 2017

Exploring Atlanta's Community Development Landscape with Governor Lael Brainard

Fed Governor Brainard visited Atlanta neighborhoods with community and economic development and supervision and regulation team members. They met with community members and organizations to discuss local efforts, reports Partners Update.

Jan 27, 2017

Small Bank and Intermediate Small Bank CRA Examination YouTubeOff-site link

This video explains how small banks and intermediate small banks are examined under the Community Reinvestment Act.

Jan 01, 2017

Fed CommunitiesOff-site link

An online portal provides hundreds of community development resources from all 12 Federal Reserve Banks and the Board of Governors.

Nov 28, 2016

Exploring Economic Trends in the Southeast

U.S. household incomes are climbing, but have southeastern states kept up with the national trend? This Partners Update article probes recent census data on household incomes to find out.

Oct 06, 2016

Minding the Gaps: Household Financial Stability in the Southeast

This Partners Update article uses data from the 2015 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking to examine the financial well-being of households in the Southeast after the Great Recession.

Aug 24, 2016

Concentrated Poverty in the Southeast: A Tale of Two Regions

How have patterns of concentrated poverty changed in the Southeast since the Great Recession? Partners Update previews a student paper on the topic.

Jul 22, 2016

The Quest for Durable and Inclusive Economic Growth

Data show a persistent widening of income inequality in this country. How can communities establish economic growth that is both strong and inclusive? Partners Update looks at a South Florida effort to improve prosperity for all and create a more resilient local economy.

Apr 19, 2016

Understanding Heirs' Properties in the Southeast

Heirs' properties are parcels of land inherited by descendants of a previous owner who did not leave a will. This type of ownership is widespread in the Southeast and disproportionately found in low-income ethnic and racial minority families. Partners Update examines the social and economic issues associated with these properties.

Apr 07, 2016

Putting a Human Face on Eviction

What's behind the increasing rate of tenant evictions across the country? Harvard's Matthew Desmond, author of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, discussed the lack of affordable housing and shared haunting personal stories from his book at a recent Atlanta Fed event. Learn more in Partners Update.

Jan 04, 2016

Offsetting Gentrification and Fostering Inclusive Transit-Oriented Development

The Atlanta Fed cohosted a recent symposium to examine strategies that would promote equitable transit-oriented development without gentrifying a neighborhood and displacing residents. Partners Update takes you inside the discussions.

Jan 01, 2016

Grow Your Own: Entrepreneurship-Based Economic Development for Local Communities Adobe PDF file formatOff-site link

The purpose of this ebook is to present an emerging model of economic development that focuses on using entrepreneurship and small business development as the primary tool to create community economic growth.

Dec 08, 2015

What It's Worth: Strengthening the Financial Future of Families, Communities and the NationOff-site link

Published by the San Francisco Fed in partnership with CFED, What It's Worth provides a 360-degree view of the financial problems and challenges millions of American households face. The book highlights the enormous creativity and innovation underway to improve financial well-being and provides concrete ways that nearly all sectors of society can implement proven and evolving solutions.

Mar 13, 2015

Integrating Financial Counseling with Other Municipal Services

One model of financial counseling couples education with delivery of point-in-time municipal services. This model and other issues relevant to financial education providers were topics at the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund's annual meeting hosted by the Atlanta Fed's Nashville Branch, reports Partners Update.

Jan 15, 2015

Study Sheds Light on Working Families in Florida

U.S. job growth was the best in 15 years in 2014, but not all those jobs pay enough to support a family. The ALICE project describes the population of workers struggling to afford basic necessities; Partners Update examines the Florida project results.

Dec 04, 2014

What Counts: Harnessing Data for America's CommunitiesOff-site link

With 90 percent of the world's data generated in just the past two years, this book from the San Francisco Fed and the Urban Institute challenges policymakers, funders, and practitioners across sectors to seize this new opportunity to revolutionize our approaches to improve lives in low-income communities. It provides a road map for the strategic use of data to reduce poverty, improve health, expand access to quality education, increase employment, and build stronger and more resilient communities.

Nov 04, 2014

Chair Yellen Discusses Inequality and Opportunity

In a recent speech, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen discussed widening inequality in income and wealth in the United States. Partners Update notes that she highlighted four building blocks to build economic opportunity.

Nov 01, 2014

Community Development Data Guidebook Adobe PDF file formatOff-site link

The guidebook from the San Francisco Fed provides information on a variety of community development data resources, divided by topic area, along with a practical application of how to retrieve the data and suggestions on how to conduct appropriate analysis.

Sep 18, 2014

Inclusionary Housing Policies: A Promising Tool for Housing Affordability

The U.S. housing market has been on the mend since the recession ended, but increasing property values are leaving many families of modest means priced out of the market. This Partners Update article examines inclusionary housing policies as one possible solution.

Aug 25, 2014

Strategies to Mitigate Rural Poverty Using Human and Social Capital

One outcome of the recent recession is that rural poverty rates are the highest since the mid-1980s. Mil Duncan, founding director of the University of New Hampshire's Carsey Institute, discusses the issues facing the rural poor in an Economic Development podcast episode. podcast

Jun 30, 2014

Competition to Incentivize Community Change: Working Cities Challenge

The Working Cities Challenge seeks to spur collaborative leadership in Massachusetts's smaller cities and help improve low-income residents' quality of life. Prabal Chakrabarti, at the Boston Fed, and Jessica Andors, at Lawrence Community Works, discuss the initiative in an Economic Development podcast episode. podcast

May 08, 2014

Limiting Property Tax Assessments to Slow Gentrification

Though some cities plan to reduce or freeze property tax assessments for long-time homeowners, a recent Atlanta Fed blog suggests that property taxes are not a significant driver of neighborhood change. Partners Update takes a look at the issue.

Apr 17, 2014

Partnership Works to Reduce Poverty

The Florida Prosperity Partnership, a statewide coalition, links community organizations, state and local governments, and financial institutions to support residents' financial health. Partners Update looks at some of the organization's achievements.

Mar 01, 2014

Healthy Communities: A Framework for Meeting CRA Obligations Adobe PDF file formatOff-site link

This publication provides a road map of best practices in community development and a healthy communities framework that highlights the types of investments that are valuable both to financial institutions and their target communities. It also includes reference guides for ensuring planned CRA activities meet regulatory requirements and a template for how financial institutions can tell their CRA story.

Nov 29, 2013

Event: Opportunities and Challenges in Low- to Moderate-Income Communities: A Trialogue among Stakeholders

Lenders, regulators, and representatives of community-based nonprofit organizations met to discuss housing finance, general financial services, and small business lending, with a focus on low- to moderate-income households.

Oct 03, 2013

Access to Consumer Credit in the Southeast: Results of the Community Indicators Project

Well-functioning credit markets are vital to support a healthy economy. Using survey results and listening sessions, the Atlanta Fed's Community Indicators Project examines consumers' access to credit in the Southeast, particularly in low- and moderate-income households. Partners Update looks at the results.

May 28, 2013

People-Centered Practices: Improving the Workforce Potential for Those with Disabilities

How can the workforce development system better respond to people with disabilities? Kathy Krepcio, of Rutgers' Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, and Michael Morris, of National Disability Institute, discuss innovative programs and policies designed to ensure this sector is poised to meet employers' labor needs.

Apr 11, 2013

Resilience and Rebuilding for Low-Income Communities: Research to Inform Policy and Practice

A diverse set of issues is shaping community development policy and practice. Nearly 350 participants explored research at the Fed's eighth biennial Community Development Research Conference. New ideas, approaches, and strategies for the community development industry and academic field were discussed.

Aug 23, 2012

Taking the Pulse of Regional Low-Wage Workers

Low-wage workers make up about one-third of the U.S. workforce. What hurdles do they encounter when looking for a job? The Atlanta Fed community and economic development group conducted a poll to understand the issues low-wage workers in the Southeast face.

Aug 03, 2012

Fed Survey Examines Recession's Impact on Family Finances

According to the Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Consumer Finances for 2010, American families' net worth and income have fallen sharply since 2007.

Jul 12, 2012

Increase in Mobile Banking Services an Opportunity for Unbanked Consumers

Kate Marshall Dole, an analyst at the Center for Financial Services Innovation, discusses the potential that mobile banking and payments represent for reaching the unbanked and underserved communities.

Jun 18, 2012

Community Reinvestment: Does Your Bank Measure Up?

This Atlanta Fed booklet describes how the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) affects the way banks and thrifts serve their communities' credit needs. It outlines factors that regulators use to rate a bank's CRA performance and tells where to find information on a bank's rating.

May 22, 2012

Why Did So Many People Make So Many Ex Post Bad Decisions? The Causes of the Foreclosure Crisis

An Atlanta Fed research paper suggests that prevailing optimism during the housing boom and the resulting decisions made by homeowners and financial institutions were primary causes of the foreclosure crisis. The paper examines what led to some of these decisions and how policymakers might respond in the future.

Apr 11, 2012

Southeast Communities Respond to Tightened Fiscal Conditions

Recently, the Atlanta Fed's Community and Economic Development outreach team interviewed experts across the Southeast on how local communities are responding to reduced state and local budgets. What impact is that having on households and communities in the region?

Mar 23, 2012

Federal Reserve Board Report Shows Widespread Growth in Mobile Banking

Mobile banking is a growing trend among consumers, according to recent findings from a Federal Reserve Board report. The online survey of nearly 2,300 people explores the widespread use of mobile technology to access a bank account, credit card, or other financial account.

Jan 01, 2012

Investing in What Works for America's Communities Adobe PDF file formatOff-site link

This compilation of essays published by the San Francisco Fed and the Low Income Investment Fund highlights entrepreneurial solutions for addressing poverty. Authors include leading experts from across the country in community and economic development, academia, government policy, health, and philanthropy.

Dec 20, 2011

Negative Equity Impedes Real Estate Market Recovery

Over 10.7 million households owe more than their homes are worth as of the third quarter of 2011, according to Chief Economist Mark Fleming of CoreLogic. Negative equity can hinder homeowners' ability to sell their homes or, in some cases, to qualify for loan modification and refinancing programs.

Sep 08, 2011

Connecting CommunitiesOff-site link

Federal Reserve System webinar series provides a national audience with timely insights and information on emerging and important community and economic development topics.

Sep 01, 2011

Mortgage Performance Trends in the Southeast: A Reality Check

The most recent Mortgage Delinquency and Foreclosure Trends from the Atlanta Fed shows a slight decrease in the percentage of mortgages in foreclosure in the Southeast from December 2010 to June 2011. But there's an asterisk beside that news.

Jun 24, 2011

Presentations and Papers from Three Recent Conferences Online

The Atlanta Fed cosponsored conferences on green development and green finance, community development research, and increasing stability in unbanked and under-banked communities.

Jun 17, 2011

Self-employment as Economic Development Strategy: What Does It Mean For Metro and Nonmetro Counties in the Southeastern United States?

New research suggests that self-employment is becoming an important solution to unemployment in the Southeast, especially in rural areas. But why are there different outcomes for urban and rural areas? And what are the implications for economic developers and policymakers?

Apr 21, 2009

Intrametropolitan Patterns of Foreclosed Homes: ZIP-Code-Level Distributions of Real-Estate-Owned (REO) Properties during the U.S. Mortgage Crisis Adobe PDF file format

Real-estate-owned (REO) properties are usually vacant and, particularly when geographically concentrated, can have destabilizing effects on neighborhoods and communities. The author studies intrametro REO distributions across different metro areas during the mortgage crisis.

Dec 15, 2008

The Accumulation of Foreclosed Properties: Trajectories of Metropolitan REO Inventories during the 2007-2008 Mortgage Crisis Adobe PDF file format

What was the extent to which real-estate-owned (REO) properties accumulated in different housing markets during the mortgage crisis? The author examines characteristics of the inventory of REO properties in U.S. metro areas from 2006 to 2008.

Oct 10, 2008

Community Response to the Foreclosure Crisis: Thoughts on Local Interventions Adobe PDF file format

Mortgage regulation and foreclosure laws are generally under federal and state governance, but local governments and organizations responded to rising foreclosures in various ways. The author presents a range of responses to the foreclosure crisis that local organizations have used.