Research Division

The Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis currently employs about 100+ individuals covering a very wide range of critical areas. The core competences of the Research Director in the Research Division include:

1. Monetary Policy and Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)

The Research Division contributes to monetary policy discussions by advising Bank president James Bullard on a range of topics, especially in preparation for FOMC meetings. The bank president and the research director attend to the FOMC meetings in Washington.

2. Development of Frontier Economic Research

The economists in the Research Division expand the frontier of economic knowledge by producing high-quality original research in the areas of macroeconomics, money and banking, and applied microeconomics. The Division is in the top 3% of all economics research departments worldwide. The working paper series offers emerging research ideas to stimulate discussion. St. Louis Fed publications provide analysis and instruction for the general public, journalists, and students. These outlets allow Division economists to quickly and efficiently address economic trends, explore historical and current data for economic policy, and expand the understanding of issues relevant to our region, the nation, and the world.

3. Research Information Services and Economic Education

The Research Division  also manages research information services and economic education.

• The widely used FRED® data service is updated daily and allows 24/7 access to over 820,000+ economic and financial data series from more than 100 public and proprietary sources.

• The Economic Education team produces curriculum materials in the award-winning student and teacher online portal, Econlowdown® they create and sponsor programs that engage a wider audience in economics and personal finance, especially underserved populations. The platform is free with online resources for K-12 and college classrooms.

• FRASER®, a unique digital library of economic and financial history, offers access to more than half a million historical data, research, and policy documents.

• Librarians in our Homer Jones Memorial Research Library facilitate access to economic data and information and maintain Fed in Print, the central online catalog of publications of the Federal Reserve System.

• Dashboards of comparative state, county, and metro economic data for areas across the US are made available by the Regional Economics team, who also produce and disseminate Eighth District economic data and research like the Beige Book.

4. Foster a strong pipeline of future leaders in economics

Division leadership benefits from a wide range of ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives among our economists to encourage innovative thinking, broaden existing concepts, and identify new areas for research. We continuously recruit PhD economists. A key objective of our recruitment is to foster a strong pipeline of future leaders in economics. Our economic education and external communication teams are crucial in achieving this objective.

For over a decade, we have been at the forefront of developing a strong pipeline—from high school to graduate school—for students to enter and succeed in economics. Our student board of directors program, established in 2012, has provided mentorship from our research associates and opportunities to experience the U.S. central bank. Our internship programs offer valuable experiences and guidance to students early in their careers. Our symposium and podcast series, launched in 2018, have highlighted the work and careers of individuals making significant contributions to the field of economics.