It has been a messy year for macroeconomic analysis. The wild fluctuations in inflation, energy prices, the stock market and consumer behavior have all made mistakes by companies and investors alike. Retailers have been caught in these shifts, as evidenced by both Walmart and Target’s mishandling…

Tens of millions of workers had to adjust to working remotely at the onset of the pandemic, and over two years later we continue to debate the right balance between in-person and virtual work. Workers and their employers are still experimenting to see what works best, making the most of an…

The Federal Reserve has talked a lot about its goal of a soft landing for the economy as it raises interest rates to fight inflation, but there hasn't been as much talk about what that would look like for workers. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has called the labor market “tight to an unhealthy…

News that the US population barely grew this year, together with ever-falling birthrates and the decline in immigration, raises the possibility that the nation will be shrinking in the not-so-distant future. So fewer people should make housing more affordable for those looking for it, right? Well,…

As the automobile industry evolves toward an electric future, incentives will be a big driver of the transition — not just potential tax credits to accelerate demand, but investor behavior that helps shift automakers' priorities. Manufacturers are going to try to ramp up spending on future…

One of the biggest economic development arms races in decades is beginning to take shape. A flurry of multi-billion dollar investment decisions from major automakers has combined with growth in consumer sales to make 2021 feel like the inflection point for electric vehicle adoption. And while…

When we talk about workers going back to their offices, the goal for most people is to return to the normal routines of life. But there's at least one group of former office-dwellers who are viewing the return as uncharted territory: parents who had their first child during the past 18 months. …

Current labor shortages might be temporary as workers re-enter the labor force over the next several months, but the higher pay they're earning won't be, given the tendency for wages to be sticky. That's going to make this economic expansion different than the last one. An expansion starting…

The job market recovery is looking better for 2023 and 2024, even while this year's forecasts need to be reined in a bit. The best evidence for the optimistic outlook is coming from a surprising place: teenagers. The last two jobs reports poured cold water on the hope that we could add a million…

Something seems to have changed in housing market psychology over the past month. Prospective buyers who find themselves in bidding wars might not have noticed it yet, but there are multiple signs that the market is beginning to cool. Last week's consumer-price report, which came in much hotter…