Data and Indicators

San Francisco Fed President and CEO John C. Williams discusses the value of higher education as a foundation for lifelong learning. The arc of one’s life and career choices are influenced by the continuous pursuit of knowledge, and even lessons that don’t appear to have a pragmatic purpose are vital to our success later in life.

As the price of higher education continues to rise, does a college education’s return on investment still add up? A series of essays authored by San Francisco Fed President and CEO John C. Williams, Senior Vice President and Associate Director of Research Mary C. Daly, Research Associate Yifan Cao, and Senior Economic Education Manager Jody Hoff, argue that the answer is a resounding yes. The essays are included in the San Francisco Fed’s 2014 Annual Report, Does College Matter?

The Fed is widely expected to raise the Federal Funds Rate from an unprecedented near zero level sometime this year. But in recent interviews, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John C. Williams stresses that the decision will be “data-driven, not date-driven.”

A growing number of fast-expanding technology companies, from Twitter to Salesforce, and their well-paid engineers and executives now call San Francisco home. But that’s increasingly difficult to do for individuals who make less than $35,000 a year, according to a recent report by the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank.

In the business trend called big data, technology is used to mine massive amounts of information to boost sales and profit. Businesses now use sophisticated software to comb through emails, Twitter and Facebook posts, and even smartphone signals to target customers or roll out new products. But while it’s revolutionizing the business world, could big data also be used for taking on poverty and other social challenges?

More single-family homes were being built compared to the previous year as 2014 drew to a close, underscoring a strengthening real estate market. But another trend is drawing attention for its potential impact on the housing market and struggling families: a growing number of single-family homes are now for rent.

The San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank celebrated its 100th anniversary last May. It’s an ideal time to reflect on the role the SF Fed has played in the major changes in the American economy over the past century. As SF Fed President John Williams said in a 2013 essay, the bank’s first hundred years was […]