Report December 2000

The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates six times over the past 12 months in an effort to slow economic growth, arguing that the economy is overheated and that the low unemployment rate will lead to inflation as workers in scant supply begin to demand higher salaries. A new Levy Institute Policy Note, summarized in this issue, argues that there is little evidence that low unemployment leads to inflation, and that the Fed’s actions will merely hasten a downturn that will impose huge costs on society’s most disadvantaged.

Contents: Conference on multiraciality and the 2000 Census * New Policy Note: Why Does the Fed Want Slower Growth? * New Working Papers include: Race and the Value of Owner-occupied Housing, 1940-1990 * Racial Wealth Disparities * Demographic Outcomes of Ethnic Intermarriage in American History * CRA Grade Inflation * Levy Institute News: Report Issued by US Trade Deficit Review Commission * Announcement of upcoming conferences