St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the Federal Reserve often needs better information to understand community development and issues affecting low- and moderate-income individuals and communities,
“The appropriate data for a completely convincing analysis is often not available,” Bullard said today to the Fed-sponsored Community Affairs Research Conference in Arlington, Virginia. Researchers need to “be innovative and imaginative in devising methods of gaining knowledge in these areas despite the difficulties involved.”
Bullard didn’t comment on the U.S. economic outlook or monetary policy in his remarks.
Each of the 12 regional Fed banks has a division focused on issues faced by low-income and moderate-income areas. This year’s conference is focused on innovative research to improve the central bank’s understanding of these communities.
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will address the conference at 12:30 p.m. New York time. In a press conference this week, Bernanke said “high unemployment, high gas prices and high foreclosure rates is a — is a terrible combination. A lot of people are having a very tough time.”
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