to cash an amount of home equity close to the realized gain. this cash payout is financed by the net increase in debt on the purchased home, and hence on total mortgage debt outstanding. even after accounting for the down payments on any subsequent home purchase, sellers receive, net, large amounts of cash, which they view as unencumbered. the counterpart of that cash, the increased debt taken on by the homebuyers, is supported by the new home values enhanced by capital gains. in addition, low mortgage interest rates have encouraged significant growth of home equity loan advances and cash - out refinancings, which are another channel for the extraction of previously unrealized capital gains on homes. a recent federal reserve study, however, points out that only one - fifth of reductions in budget deficits tend to show through to reduced current account deficits. ( see christopher erceg, luca guerrieri, and christopher gust [ 2005 ], " expansionary fiscal shocks and the trade deficit, " board of governors of the federal reserve system, international finance division, paper 825. ) all told, home mortgage debt, driven largely by equity extraction, has grown much more rapidly in the past five years than during the previous five years. surveys suggest that approximately half of equity extraction shows up in additional household expenditures, reducing savings commensurately and thereby presumably contributing to the current account deficit. interestingly, the change in u. s. home mortgage debt over the past half - century correlates significantly with our current account deficit. 6 to be sure, correlation is not causation, and there have been many influences on both mortgage debt and the current account. nevertheless, over the past two decades, major innovations in the united states have improved the availability and lowered the costs of home mortgages. these developments likely spurred homeowners to tap increasing home equity to finance consumer expenditures beyond home purchase. in contrast, mortgage debt is not so readily available among our trading partners as a vehicle to finance consumption expenditures. * * * because exporters to the united states are willing to countenance wide swings in profit margins, the level of international trade may be less variable than under previous price - setting regimes when exchange rate pass - through was greater. arguably, this development has contributed to a higher level of trade. accordingly, the competitive benefits of globalization may be greater than if exporters allowed exports rather than profit margins to swing widely with exchange rate changes, as they apparently

lael brainard : is economics for me? increasing the participation of black women in economics speech by ms lael brainard, member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the sadie t. m. alexander conference for economics, washington dc, 23 february 2019. * * * it is an honor to be a part of the inaugural sadie t. m. alexander conference in economics and related fields. i want to thank each of you in this room and those of you livestreaming who form the sadie collective. special thanks go to mykelle richburg, kayla jones, olusayo adeleye, george - ann ryan, jada houser, fanta traore, and anna gifty opoku - agyeman for taking the initiative and launching this organization and this conference to increase the representation of black women in the field of economics. i applaud your efforts, and i support your mission. 1 the story of dr. sadie tanner mossell alexander is an inspiration for us all. a woman of firsts — the first african american to receive a ph. d. in economics and the first woman to receive a law degree from the university of pennsylvania — she was a pioneer who knocked down some daunting doors. the question for the women in this room here today is whether you will follow her through those doors and maybe knock down a few of your own. the need for greater diversity let me start by making two observations about economics. first, the field of economics is rooted in evidence and research. the second observation follows strongly from the research and the evidence : economics has a diversity challenge. there is a stubbornly persistent lack of diversity in the economics profession. 2 year after year, minorities and women are underrepresented in the pool of individuals awarded a doctorate in economics in the united states relative to their share in the broader population, and the gap is especially acute for women of color. the american economic association reports that in the 2016 – 17 academic year, seven black / african american women were awarded a doctorate in economics in the united states, along with eight black / african american men, out of a total pool of 1, 150 economics ph. d.'s awarded overall. the economics diversity gap starts even earlier. as amanda bayer and david wilcox have documented, women and minorities are also underrepresented in undergraduate economics programs. from 2011 to 2015, women accounted for only 31 percent of undergraduate degrees in economics — substantially below their