FEATURED POST

January 27, 2026

Thinking small

It was an eventful week at the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland. And behind the global headlines, I witnessed a part of the economy that often goes overlooked at these big events: small business
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March 18, 2024

Main Street Macro: The new geography of work ­­­

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Anyone who has ever done any hiring knows it’s not always easy to find the right person for the job. And if you’ve been on the other side of the interview table, you know that finding the right company to work for also can be challenging, even in a good economy. This matching process between job candidates and hiring managers has changed a lot over the last four years due to the growth of remote-work arrangements.
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March 11, 2024

Main Street Macro: Missing the Mark: Trends in teacher salary

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Teachers are a crucial part of the economy. I should know–my mom is a teacher. They’re part of the care economy, often described by economists as the workforce behind the workforce. In a new analysis, the ADP Research Institute’s Jeff Nezaj shows that even though the U.S. economy continues to add jobs at a rapid clip, the education sector is trailing behind. Here are three key findings.
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February 5, 2024

Main Street Macro: What to do with good news?

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Wall Street has a complicated relationship with good news, especially when interest rates are high, like they are now. Investors know that economic growth is good for their portfolios, but economic growth plus rock-bottom interests are even better.
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January 29, 2024

Main Street Macro: What color is your collar?

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

This week brings the first jobs report of the new year, and already people are asking about the outlook for 2024. Worries about inflation and recession have been supplanted by labor-market anxiety. Layoffs in technology and finance have triggered unease that white-collar jobs might be vulnerable to a hiring slowdown this year.
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January 22, 2024

Main Street Macro: The power of Davos: Networks

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Davos, Switzerland, site of last week’s World Economic Forum gathering, is where movers and shakers meet. Leaders of companies, governments, and nonprofits around the world do here what they do best: Network.
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January 15, 2024

Main Street Macro: Reality check

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

You’ve probably heard that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. In reality, when it comes to the future path of the economy, the line is rarely straight. We saw this last week, when a key measure of consumer inflation rose after three months of decline. This kind of volatility isn’t unusual, especially during times of geopolitical uncertainty.
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January 8, 2024

Main Street Macro: The trust factor

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

The annual World Economic Forum gathering in the mountainside retreat of Davos, Switzerland, is commonly described with a single word: Elite. But this year, Davos is attempting to draw attention to a new descriptor: Trust. The theme of this month’s Davos meeting, which begins Jan. 15, is rebuilding trust. The gathering will take place as the world confronts new and significant challenges and opportunities.
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December 18, 2023

Main Street Macro: North pole wage report

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Did you ever wonder how much Santa Claus makes? Turns out it’s a little more than $35 an hour. And how do I know this?
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