Chaeri Doh and Edison Reyes

The theme of the New York Fed’s fifth annual “An Economy That Works for All” event was financial inclusion, defined as the availability of opportunities to access and participate in the financial system. The January event brought together researchers, educators, and nonprofit leaders to explore how financial literacy and innovation can strengthen household financial health and broaden economic opportunity.

Julian Macrone

Nearly 500 entrepreneurs, community leaders, investors, and researchers participated in “Making Missing Markets: Connecting Communities and Capital,” a November event focused on fostering and improving markets channeling investments into under-resourced communities.

Maria Carmelita Recto and Jonathan Kivell

Housing affordability is a challenge throughout the Federal Reserve’s Second District, putting a strain on household finances and communities in urban and rural areas, big cities, and small towns. The Community Development team at the New York Fed has created a body of work around the development, financing, and rehabilitation of multifamily affordable housing, publishing papers on affordable housing investments by private investment vehicles and pension funds. The team has hosted events on local policies and approaches to developing and rehabilitating affordable apartments, as well as efforts by faith-based organizations, hospitals, and institutional investors to increase the supply of affordable homes. 

Jacob Scott, Maria Carmelita Recto, and Jonathan Kivell

The New York Fed’s Community Development team has been studying how the secondary market for loans originated by Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) could be expanded. A more robust secondary market for loans made by CDFIs, which specialize in lending to low- and moderate-income communities, would give CDFIs greater access to capital. That, in turn, could increase the capital available to borrowers in the rural communities, suburbs, and urban neighborhoods CDFIs serve.

Craig Bradstock and Nathaniel Kressen

On October 4, the New York Fed hosted “The Future of New York City: Focus on Jobs.” Participants discussed New York City’s post-pandemic employment rebound, the geographic redistribution of jobs, and the workforce development challenges the city faces.

Jack Gutt

Puerto Rico is on the cusp of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape its economy. That was the consensus at the NEXA Jobs Summit in San Juan, Puerto Rico on April 10-11. This gathering, organized by the Platform for Social Impact, brought together leaders from community and economic development, government, academia, and the private sector. Participants explored how Puerto Rico could take advantage of government and private funds, economic momentum following more than a decade of recession, and a young and capable workforce to develop quality jobs on the Island and address long-term poverty and economic insecurity.

Tony Davis and Javier Silva

Puerto Rico’s community development financial institution (CDFI) sector has grown 15-fold over the last decade following a collaboration that brought together leaders from government, community development finance, and Puerto Rico’s credit unions, known as cooperativas.

Jacob Scott, Maria Carmelita Recto, and Jonathan Kivell

A more robust secondary market for loans originated by Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which specialize in lending to low- and moderate-income communities, would give CDFIs greater access to capital, thus allowing them to make more loans. This is why the Community Development team at the New York Fed is researching the secondary market for loans originated by CDFIs and how that market could be expanded.

Julian Macrone

The New York Fed and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs brought together economists, Ph.D. candidates, and climate experts on October 2 for the second annual Environmental Economics and Policy Conference, “Measuring and Adapting to Climate Risk.” The conference featured a keynote address from Columbia University professor and Nobel Laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz and a conversation between Stiglitz and New York Fed President John C. Williams.