Articles providing critical insights and analysis on monetary policy issues impacting the U.S. economy and its deep financial and economic relationship with Mexico.
Research Department Working Papers
A History of U.S. Tariffs: Quantifying Strategic Trade-Offs in Tariff Policy Design
U.S. tariff policy has historically balanced competing goals—revenue, protection and reciprocity. Policy priorities have shifted over time in response to changing economic and political conditions. Using a calibrated general equilibrium model, this paper illustrates these trade-offs through the lens of tariff Laffer curves.
August 05, 2025
Research Department Working Papers
The Micro and Macro Dynamics of Capital Flows
This paper studies empirically and theoretically the effects of international financial flows on resource allocation.
August 01, 2025
China remains modest player in U.S.–Mexico trade despite growing scrutiny
Understanding Mexico’s evolving economic linkages with East Asia and China is critical to the future of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA trade accord) and the nearshoring and integration of North American manufacturing supply chains.
July 09, 2025
Declining immigration weighs on GDP growth, with little impact on inflation
In Depth: Unauthorized immigration surged sharply in 2021–24 but has since declined abruptly with negative implications for economic growth.
July 08, 2025
Mexico Economic Update
Mexico’s economy shows mixed signals
The latest data available indicated a mixed economic outlook as employment and remittances fell, while output primarily driven by agriculture, industrial production, exports and retail sales grew.
June 20, 2025
Research Department Working Papers
Bubbling Up? What Consumer Expectations Reveal About U.S. Housing Market Exuberance
This paper investigates the presence of speculative bubbles in the U.S. housing market after the global financial crisis. Unlike standard approaches that rely on observed economic fundamentals, the method used in this paper leverages subjective price expectations from the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers to test for exuberance without imposing a specific model of intrinsic housing values.
May 21, 2025
U.S. tariff outcomes dependent on trading partner responses
In Depth: U.S. tariff policy has historically shifted among competing goals: providing revenue, protecting domestic markets and opening foreign markets to domestic producers. These goals are unlikely to be achieved simultaneously.
May 13, 2025
Mexico Economic Update
Mexico’s economy continues to decelerate amid worsening economic outlook
The consensus forecast for 2025 real GDP growth (fourth quarter, year over year) compiled by Banco de México fell to 0.5 percent in March. The latest data available indicated a slowing economy.
April 23, 2025
Research Department Working Papers
Global Macro-Financial Cycles and Spillovers
This paper develops a new dynamic factor model to jointly characterize global macroeconomic and financial cycles and the spillovers between them.
April 22, 2025
Research Department Working Papers
Tempting FAIT: Flexible Average Inflation Targeting and the Post-COVID U.S. Inflation Surge
In August 2020, the Federal Reserve replaced Flexible Inflation Targeting (FIT) with Flexible Average Inflation Targeting (FAIT), introducing make-up strategies that allow inflation to temporarily exceed the 2% target. Using a synthetic control approach, this paper estimates that FAIT raised CPI inflation by about 1 percentage point and core CPI inflation by 0.5 percentage points, suggesting a moderate impact net of food and energy and a largely temporary effect. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis of a steeper-than-expected post-pandemic Phillips curve in the New Keynesian model.
April 09, 2025