Reader Exchange

New Videos Focus on Economists' Research

The St. Louis Fed has released three more short videos that show our economists talking about their research. The videos are part of the Timely Topics series.

Two of the latest videos feature B. Ravikumar and focus on the gap between rich and poor countries. The first video, which is 3½ minutes long, shows how the gap has grown exponentially since the days of Adam Smith. The second video, about 4 minutes, examines how a reduction in trade barriers might help to close this gap.

The third video looks at the research being conducted by David Wiczer on Social Security's disability insurance program. Given the large number of people "on disability" these days and the resulting public debate over such, Wiczer sought out to see how far from ideal is the current program we have in the United States. In this video, a bit over 4 minutes, Wiczer also explains that most everyone gets something out of this program—even those who are not disabled—because the insurance encourages people to take on dangerous jobs that need to be done.

Earlier videos in this series looked at the gold standard and the regional structure of the Federal Reserve System. To watch any of these videos, go to https://www.stlouisfed.org/timely-topics.

Save the Date for Community Banking Research Conference

Community bankers, academics, policymakers and bank supervisors from around the country will meet Sept. 28-29, 2016, at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis for Community Banking in the 21st Century, the annual community banking research and policy conference sponsored by the Federal Reserve System and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.

The conference, which features the latest community banking research, will be available to view via live webcast throughout both days.

To view the proceedings and the research of the 2015 conference, visit the conference website at www.communitybanking.org. Details on the upcoming fourth annual conference will be available there later this year.