Using Qualitative Research to Understand the Economy: A Toolkit

This toolkit offers lessons on using community-engaged qualitative research practices gleaned from the Federal Reserve’s Worker Voices Project and shows how others can employ these methods in their own work.

Featured Work

Inequality Research Review: Gender Gaps in the Labor Market

Economic Insights — We made great strides toward gender equality in the 20th century, but the gap in earnings between men and women persists, most likely because mothers are more likely to focus their energy on child care rather than paid labor.

Macroeconomics

Article

What Explains the Great Resignation?

Economic Insights — It’s no surprise that quits rise in a tight labor market, but the scale of quits in 2021 came as a shock. We evaluate three explanations for what some call the Great Resignation.

A Measure of the Anchor Economy’s Impact and Importance

New research provides insight into regional economic change and anchor reliance. In this article, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick T. Harker shares his perspective on leveraging these data to understand both underlying trends in regional economies and future needs.

Featured Data

Anchor Economy Dashboard

Explore the economic impact of anchor institutions in 524 regions across the U.S. The reliance index demonstrates how dependent regional economies are on these institutions and provides a measure of the national average.

Updated: 27 Sep ’22

Occupational Mobility Explorer

This interactive tool sheds light on career pathways in the U.S. labor market. The tool allows users to explore career paths and visualize how job skills needed for specific occupations can transfer to higher-paying occupations in the same geographical area.

Updated: 23 Sep ’24