Global trade: Inside the world economy’s hidden wiring
Six Hundred Atlantic
Global trade is the world economy’s “hidden wiring:” Instead of trading finished goods, countries exchange product components and services, linking nations across the world through spread-out supply chain models. But this also means far-away economic shocks can now have a much greater impact on U.S. prices, jobs, and investment decisions. Risks like extreme weather events, geopolitical flare-ups, and cybersecurity threats are shaking up the international economic landscape – and could lead to greater isolation. What might that mean for the future of global trade? Download the papers...
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FedNow’s role in modernizing payments
Six Hundred Atlantic
Money moves through the U.S. payments system every second of the day. One key part of that system is the FedNow® Service, the Federal Reserve’s instant payment rail. Launched in 2023, it enables financial institutions to move funds instantly – 24/7, 365 days a year. While FedNow is focused on domestic payments, the Fed is also exploring how it could eventually help make cross-border payments faster and simpler. In this Six Hundred Atlantic episode, Executive Vice President and Chief FedNow Executive Nick Stanescu discusses...
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Is college worth the rising cost? Yes! But …
Six Hundred Atlantic
“Is college worth it?” Boston Fed research indicates the answer is yes. It shows a correlation between higher salaries and higher educational attainment in New England over the last 40 years. Also, people with more education have higher starting wages and steeper salary raises throughout their careers. But there’s nuance. Pinghui Wu is a senior economist who co-wrote the recent research. She discusses why New England has higher educational attainment than most regions, and how that affects incomes. She also talks about the “college premium” – the fact that workers with college...
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Instant payments, instant impact?: Why speed matters
Six Hundred Atlantic
Instant payments often aren’t “instant” at all, due to lags between when money is sent and received. These lags can be costly for people who need the money immediately to pay bills on time. Some end up paying late or overdraft fees. Others are forced to turn to expensive alternative financial services, like payday loans. Brian Clarke is a payments analyst and deputy director in the Regional & Community Outreach department at the Boston Fed. He spoke with us about the emergence of truly “real-time” instant payments, when money is sent and received in seconds. He says this speedy...
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How is tariff uncertainty affecting businesses?
Six Hundred Atlantic
How is tariff uncertainty affecting the outlooks of small and medium-sized businesses, and how will this impact consumers? Boston Fed Research Director Egon Zakrajšek is part of a team at the Bank investigating this critical, ongoing question. He discusses how the team partnered with a survey research firm to reach out to hundreds of businesses for insights. And he shares key takeaways from the team’s findings, including the potential impacts of tariffs on inflation and consumer prices. Egon Zakrajšek is an executive vice president and the director of research at the Boston Fed. Visit...
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Stretched Thin: The Housing Cost Crisis
Six Hundred Atlantic
At one time, the housing affordability crisis was associated with certain addresses. Often, they were in high-demand coastal cities and nearby communities. Today, though, people from all corners of the country are dealing with crushing housing costs. In the latest episode of the Boston Fed’s Six Hundred Atlantic podcast, we examine the 2025 “The State of the Nation’s Housing” report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Housing experts, including Boston Fed economist Paul Willen and Reserve Bank President and CEO Susan M. Collins, weigh in on what the crisis...
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The rise of private credit and what it means for financial stability
Six Hundred Atlantic
Private credit, or loans by non-bank lenders, has grown rapidly in recent years. This lending is even approaching the volume of some traditional sources of business credit, like bank loans. As the rise of private credit funds changes the way companies borrow money, it’s also creating potential implications for financial stability. John Levin is a senior markets specialist in the Supervision, Regulation & Credit Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He is the co-author of two studies examining the rise of private credit: “" and "." For more interviews and discussions on...
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Ep. 3: AI’s role in credit is growing, are things moving too fast?
Six Hundred Atlantic
People in the credit business are starting to see just how much AI can do for them. It can improve profits and lower defaults. It can predict demand for new services. It can see past credit scores and comprehensively assess lending risks. That’s why AI’s role in credit is only going to get bigger going forward. Some people are very excited about that. And some are very worried. AI will lie unless you tell it not to. It will collude on pricing with other AI. Experts say those are a couple reasons why we need to proceed with caution and better understand potential hazards. Read an...
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Ep. 2: Is decentralized finance the future? Or a false hope?
Six Hundred Atlantic
Decentralized finance feels like the future. This category of financial services is built on blockchain technology and transacted solely in crypto. It’s executed by automated programs called “smart contracts,” which helps reduce costs. And advocates say DeFi is more democratic: Everyone involved is just an anonymous node on the blockchain, making favoritism impossible. But how will it really play out? Some tell the Boston Fed’s podcast, Six Hundred Atlantic, that it requires too much tech savvy to be truly inclusive. Others worry about the safety of a “trustless system,” where the...
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Ep. 1: Where does fintech fit into the future of financial services?
Six Hundred Atlantic
Financial technology, known as fintech, is everywhere. If you send money by phone or invest with the help of robo-advisors, you’re using it. Its proponents say by lowering costs, it can expand the range of financial services providers can offer and the pool of people who can afford them. But fintech presents risks, including to privacy. Fintech companies aren’t subject to the same regulations as traditional financial institutions when it comes to handling personal data. And some worry regulatory safeguards aren’t keeping up with fintech advances. Amid the uncertainty,...
info_outline“Is college worth it?” Boston Fed research indicates the answer is yes. It shows a correlation between higher salaries and higher educational attainment in New England over the last 40 years. Also, people with more education have higher starting wages and steeper salary raises throughout their careers.
But there’s nuance.
Pinghui Wu is a senior economist who co-wrote the recent research. She discusses why New England has higher educational attainment than most regions, and how that affects incomes. She also talks about the “college premium” – the fact that workers with college degrees earn more than those with high school degrees. And she explains how that premium grows or shrinks based on factors like gender, what people study, and the availability of work in a skilled trade.
The paper Pinghui Wu co-authored is “Educational Attainment and Wage Growth in New England: Evidence From Four Decades of Administrative Wage Records.”
A related working paper is “Educational Attainment and the Evolution of Cumulative Earnings across 45 US Birth Cohorts.”
For more interviews and analysis of the economy in New England and nationwide, visit BostonFed.org/SixHundredAtlantic.aspx. Subscribe to our email list to stay updated on new episodes.