a broad array of independent academic research aimed at adding to the general knowledge and understanding of the economy. each year, fed staff members publish hundreds of papers and others forms of research, sometimes in collaboration with scholars from universities and other institutions, all of it available for use by the research community and on view to the public. conferences play an integral role in promoting the federal reserve ’ s research mission as well. this biennial community development research conference, organized by community development officials from across the federal reserve system, serves to encourage high - quality research see pew research center ( 2014 ), “ emerging and developing economies much more optimistic than rich countries about the future ( pdf ) “ ( washington : prc, october ). see ben s. bernanke ( 2007 ), “ the level and distribution of economic well - being, ” speech delivered at the greater omaha chamber of commerce, omaha, neb., february 6. see janet l. yellen ( 2014 ), “ perspectives on inequality and opportunity from the survey of consumer finances, ” speech delivered at the conference on economic opportunity and inequality, sponsored by the federal reserve bank of boston, boston, mass., october 17. bis central bankers ’ speeches and also helps bridge the gap between community development research, policy, and practice. in my brief remarks, i would like to mention a few aspects of economic mobility that i think are particularly important and worthy of further research, with the hope of stimulating the conversation that will take place here over the next couple of days. this conference will explore economic mobility as it is influenced by or affects families, communities, and the economy, so let me touch on each of those three facets. we know that families are the locus of both opportunities and barriers to economic mobility. there are important research questions to be tackled here. what individual or family characteristics may predict who will achieve upward mobility? how much does someone ’ s initial circumstances in life influence how far that person can get or how hard he or she needs to work to get there? researchers and policymakers need a better understanding of how much mobility individuals may experience over the course of their lives and at what age people ’ s outcomes may become more difficult to change. families are the source of many of the resources and experiences that influence economic mobility, and more research can help us understand to what extent and in which ways differences in the economic circumstances of families affect the upward mobility and economic security of offspring. research may be able to provide evidence on which public policies are

in the first quarter of 2004, a pace of advance not experienced since 1983. this sharp recovery in profits reflects, at least in part, the dramatic swing over the past couple of years from relatively heavy business price discounting to the restoration of a significant degree of pricing power. the most visible manifestation of the return to pricing power can be seen in the recent acceleration of core consumer prices. the twelve - month percent change in the core pce price index, which stood at just above 0. 8 percent in december of last year, was at 1. 4 percent in may. to better understand recent developments, it is helpful to view prices from the perspective of consolidated costs and profit margins. from the first quarter of 2003 to the first quarter of 2004, consolidated unit costs for the nonfinancial corporate business sector declined. hence, at least from an accounting perspective, all of the 1. 1 percent increase in the prices of final goods and services produced in that sector during that period was the consequence of a rise in profit margins. the 6. 4 percent increase in nonfinancial corporate business productivity over those four quarters accounts for much of the decline in unit costs. the remainder of the decline is accounted for by the effects of accelerating output in reducing nonlabor fixed costs per unit of output. productivity in the nonfinancial corporate sector evidently decelerated somewhat this year. moreover, as best we can judge, the growth of compensation per hour has stepped up in recent months. with gains in hourly compensation now apparently outstripping advances in productivity, unit labor costs have moved up. moreover, the increase in overall operating expenses over the last couple of months has also reflected higher energy costs and rising prices of imported non - oil inputs. it seems unlikely, however, that a further rise in profit margins will contribute to significantly higher prices of final goods and services. in an endeavor to exploit current high margins, businesses are being driven to expand their use of capital and labor resources. if history is any guide, this will tend to increase both real wages and interest rates. fears of losing market share should dissuade businesses from passing these high costs fully through to prices. accordingly, the forces of competition should cap the rise in profit margins and ultimately return them to more normal levels. to date, the aforementioned cost pressures have been relatively subdued. nonetheless, the persistence of the rise in energy prices is a worrisome element in the cost picture. fears for the long - term security of oil