In The Regional Economist: Changing Work Roles for Married Couples, Geography of Immigration, President Bullard’s Take on GDP Growth and More

ST. LOUIS – A new issue of The Regional Economist, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ quarterly review of regional, national and international economic issues of the day, has been posted online at https://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/regional-economist/october-2016.

The articles include:

President’s Message: Higher GDP Growth in the Long Run Requires Higher Productivity Growth: Given that productivity growth is one of the most important drivers of higher real GDP growth in the long run, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard discusses factors that influence productivity over time.

Home Economics: The Changing Work Roles of Wives and Husbands: The labor force participation rate for married men has dropped, while the rate for married women has risen. Husbands may be working part time or even staying out of the workforce, while wives—who have become more educated—are more likely to work full time.

Breaking Down the Gender Wage Gap by Age and by Hours Worked: In this study, the gap is compared from one generation to the next. The changes in the wage gap are linked to changes in labor supply and to “statistical discrimination”—when women pay a price because many other women are less attached to the workforce than men are.

Coming to America: A Look at Our Immigrants: Where do most of our immigrants come from? Which are the most popular and least popular states for their settlement? These are not just trivia contest questions—the answers are important for those who make policy and budget decisions on the state and federal levels.

Unequal Degrees of Affluence: Racial and Ethnic Wealth Differences across Education Levels: Family wealth generally increases with education. But new research shows that race and ethnicity can greatly affect the relative payoff.  There’s a gap—sometimes wide—between the wealth of Hispanics and African-Americans and the wealth of whites and Asians at every education level.

After Lackluster Start in 2016, Economy Improves: There is a high probability that real GDP growth in the third quarter will be much stronger than in the first half of the year. Forecasters see this solid growth carrying over to the fourth quarter, as well as to the first half of next year.

District Overview: Demographics Help Explain the Fall in the Labor Force Participation Rate: Some believe the decline is due to discouraged workers dropping out of the labor force. A review of national and District statistics, however, suggests that demographic changes—such as aging workers and adults spending more years in college—can explain this trend.

Metro Profile: Evansville, Ind., Adapts as Manufacturing, Population Growth Slide: The education and health services sector is the largest employer in the metro area these days. Manufacturing, especially related to the auto industry, is still strong but not what it once was. Another challenge is the area’s slow population growth.

Ask an Economist: What is “big data,” and how does FRED-MD contribute to it?

Economy at a Glance: Charts based on national and local data.